[Aeronaut]

Francisl wrote: I didn’t know it at the time but I was trying to describe a circuit using a Plasma Opening Switch POS. It basically works like a DPF. A fast unit is hard to find. Perhaps the LPPX technology could be used to create a very fast switch that could be patented.

Looks like it’ll handle enough voltage and current (when the switch ‘opens’) to make a single switch practical for the FF’s input power pulse. A similar 2nd switch could perhaps send the trapped inductive energy and the surplus electrical energy into the output cap bank. Might really increase design flexibility while reducing system costs and parts cost. But I doubt the DPF would be practical for what you propose.

[Aeronaut]

rashidas wrote: Lets assume for a moment that Santa Claus in the form of an angel investor drops down Eric Lerner’s chimney and leaves a blank check in his stocking. What would the Focus Fusion team wish for and how would they spend unlimited funds to accelerate the demonstration and development of a focus fusion power plant?

In keeping with the spirit of FF, let’s limit it to $5M or less, which is more than enough to represent a windfall. Since an angel investor would be looking for a quicker and surer major metric, let’s define ‘power plant’ very precisely. What type(s) and amount(s), for how long per session, interval between servicing, that sort of outline.

[Aeronaut]

Flying the US flag 24/7 is legal, provided that its lit. I’d presume that to mean lit up as if on display.

[Aeronaut]

Breakable wrote: While I appreciate your initiative to pry additional details from the LPP team
could I suggest to tone down the requests, ant let them do their job? 😉
It is not science 2.0 decade yet, so the workflows of participating in the investigation are not present yet.
It is possible that you are slowing down the progress instead of speeding it up.
Regards

I for one have learned a lot from the conversations MT’s started and pursued recently. Granted, the tone could be far more collaborative, but I doubt these threads have slowed anything down, since these have been the majority of the board’s activity recently. MT’s one of the apparently rare few people who have the Lee simulator, enough of FoFu’s electrical specs, the determination, and the fusion physics to meld the two.

[Aeronaut]

mchargue wrote:

The only place we want to retain heat is in the plasmoid. Anywhere else in the system, its a liability, slowing the maximum PRF.

True, but from what I read, the heat is maintained inside the magnetic field that contains the plasma. That would be the plasmoid in the case of the DPF, if the technique were applicable to the DPF. As I see it, the largest difference is that the other plasma system uses a (more) static magnetic field, and that may make the technique a non-starter for the DPF – which uses a decidedly non-static field. Still, I thought it worthy of mention so that those who understand the DPF better could evaluate its potential. (if any)

People like you.

Pat

Thanx, Pat. I do enjoy learning about new ways of solving or advancing tokamak-related challenges. Gives me hope for that architecture.

[Aeronaut]

Not even the film and recording industries can tell a hit from a flop. Numbers aren’t important at this point- they’re only guesses that mean nothing without the file(s) to sell. Thinking of your piece as a PDF report will help you a lot, since you can drop all the hidden pre-conceptions that come with the word ‘book.’

[Aeronaut]

The only place we want to retain heat is in the plasmoid. Anywhere else in the system, its a liability, slowing the maximum PRF.

[Aeronaut]

Do we really want to endorse Viridian or any conventional power provider? I don’t think it’s a good move.

[Aeronaut]

Definitely worth reading- lots of tidbits about design and funding of fusion projects. I don’t see a direct link, since FoFu’s designed to always work in pulse mode, and the magnetic fields are designed for one mode only. Maybe some of the details of their cleaner could apply…

[Aeronaut]

Dr_Barnowl wrote:

I’m a little sad for you though – you’ll start to be bombarded by all the deeply annoying cold calls from people trying to get you to switch your energy supplies to their company, since all it takes to be an energy supplier now is an office, and because all it costs to move is administrative costs.

They’re also now selling bonds… I may actually buy a few. 7.5% is not to be sneezed at in the current economic climate.

Not having Viridian in my state doesn’t mean we don’t have Viridian’s competitors in energy, auto insurance, phone, mobile phone, and TV, lol. The energy speculator business model is not proven to have any staying power, and the billing doesn’t clearly separate the supply from the delivery sides in my market. The entire issue is confusing to the average consumer. So the real bet in that industry is the same as investing in any registered security: can said speculator see the future of natural gas and or electricity prices clearly enough, for long enough, to consistently deliver on the too good to be true claims? My bet is against.

I like playing with cold callers. My counter script goes something like this:

“What are you selling?”
“I’m not selling anything”
“So this is a social call from a stranger?”
[Floundering noises]
“How did you get my number?”
[Something vague]
“So you didn’t check the no-call list?”

In my experience, very few cold callers are professionals. The vast majority can be a lot of fun if you approach it right.

[Aeronaut]

Publishing is simple, it’s ignoring the Pulitzer potential (most of the time, lol) that can be challenging. $50 will buy 5,000 clicks, and at a 20% click through rate, that’s 25,000 viewers of at least your title line. Nothing wrong with controversy, as long as the facts are accurate.

[Aeronaut]

Lerner wrote: No cause for angst. I got a response from Lee. The problem is simple. His model is parametric and needs some data to calibrate it. He changed the experiments that he calibrated the model with. But these experiments design was far from optimal, so now he has a calibration that runs through the middle of the historical DPF work, while our results are above the best historical ones, so way above the average ones.

Was anything discussed about writing up one or more of LPP’s experiment series for Dr. Lee to include in his package’s documentation? Since he’s got the UN DPF audience, this could be the single most important document that we produce this calendar year. Also, did he mention anything about adding pB-11 fuel and FoFu’s characteristics to the simulator?

[Aeronaut]

I doubt it’s a pyramid scheme, just an attempt to beat the commodities market on energy supplies. While it can be done for a year or few, sooner or later the company loses a big bet and you end up shopping for the newest version of Viridian. Hence my questions relating to proven stability.

[Aeronaut]

I agree with Rezwan and MSmith that this too good to be true really does get the low price legitimately. And sustainably. My guess is that they’re tapping at least one tax credit and shopping extra-difficult markets to predict the supply from. Although Michigan isn’t included yet, we get our share of offers to change suppliers. I don’t like gambling with the availability of any of my utilities. How long has this company been in business? How is it structured and capitalized? What are the odds that it’ll still be around 2 years from now?

Publicity can work for or against us, but it works big-time to make or break organizations’ reputations.

[Aeronaut]

I like the indie documentary approach. The 60 minutes story on the Bloom Box did wonders for their broad public exposure. Without that type of broad exposure, which heavily influences Google Trends, we’re pretty much stuck in the niche marketing approach, where it will take a lot of time to find the right keywords and then place above the fold against the dot gov and dot edu sites with thousands of pages of somewhat relevant content.

[Author]

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