[DerekShannon]

Here is the announcement regarding the DARPA solicitation:

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d0792af88a6a4484b3aa9d0dfeaaf553&tab=core&_cview=0

Nowhere does it specify “fission” – Just nuclear, and reactor, right?

Eric, will LPP make inquiries with the administrators to determine whether they would consider a fusion proposal?

I would also like to check whether the applicant should do the whole fuel-making-shebang, or just needs to provide the power? Even if it’s the whole deal, it might be possible to partner with another company with that expertise. Such a company might partner with several primary applicants to increase its chances, and would therefore not need to be persuaded to partner with LPP exclusively.

[DerekShannon]

Wow, that’s a very progressive bet in the heart of coal country. Good for Wise County, and good for fusion research to have another group talking seriously about advanced fuels.

[DerekShannon]

yeah, I had to suppress my urge to scream “Who cares about the stupid suits when you have all those tiny fusion reactors?!?” during IronMan.

Anywhoozle, I envision my focus fusion-powered space yacht as a mock-up of the NCC-1701 Enterprise with the generators jutting out as the warp nacelles. Center of gravity be damned!

[DerekShannon]

Yes, JShell, those comments about future rounds of funding requiring much larger sums *before* proving feasibility could be best applied to EMC2, Trialpha, and my buds at Prometheus II. But focus fusion could still fall into that pattern, since there’s plenty of grey area between “absolute failure” and “proof of breakeven before the current funding runs out.”

If the results land in the grey area, it could mean the current approach isn’t quite right, but there is enough promise or new ideas to keep going….for more cash. Or as with any new science experiment a serendipitous discovery could send everything in a completely new direction.

Careful on using scientific success in one area to mean that a scientist is correct in all others. Einstein wasn’t exactly right about the cosmological constant…er, until it turned out he was! But the
EPR Paradox is a good example.

Similarly, Percival Lowell was pretty much wrong about both “Planet X” and the canals of Mars, but his efforts still led to the discovery of Pluto!

If an alternate theory of cosmology turns out to be incorrect as an explanation for the origin of the Universe, but can be applied to a new energy technology that saves the world, that would still be a pretty good turn of events.

[DerekShannon]

Wow, detailed, Rezwan! Don’t forget, as a nonprofit, FFS is eligible for many grants that could expand its educational and other missions, bringing in busloads of kids to overwhelm the tiny lab, for instance. I learned a lot in the nonprofit development course I just finished, so let’s definitely talk sometime!

[DerekShannon]

Providers of electricity via nuclear fission do pay into a waste disposal fund:

http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2005/06/dollars-and-nuclear-waste-fund.html

[DerekShannon]

Wow, great catch, @Breakable! There sounds like very good reason to follow up based on Chu’s comments there:

“The fusion is tough. Pure fusion is still very very tough. And so um I looked a little bit, I know that Google was interested in doing one of those things, I looked a little bit at it, uh, got some of the experts at Lawrence Berkeley Lab to look at it [weighing hand gesture]. It’s not–you know–but we’ll see.”

So did a review by LBL torpedo a Google investment in alternative fusion? Did government employees evaluate an investment on Google’s behalf, at the behest of the Secretary of Energy? Regardless of whether the “look” was for Google or Chu himself, where is this review or memo on alternative fusion concepts available?

There would seem to be grounds for an FOIA request here, don’t you think, Rezwan?

For the record, this is the only evaluation I know of involving the DOE and focus fusion, from feedback on one of LPP’s proposals for a tunable X-ray source:

‘LPP’s… technical plan has been reviewed favorably by two physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and one at the Department of Energy, who concluded: “Technically the plan is very strong. The objective is truly revolutionary, yet the plan to achieve it is feasible. The steps to the objective are clearly defined. The plan is based on new, highly original theory and analysis. There is a good coordination of simulation and experimentation. The optimization plan, while ambitious, is feasible.” NIST’s Dr. Purabi Mazumdar further indicated that there were “no negative comments.’

[DerekShannon]

I like it!

[DerekShannon]

It would be great to have more people formally join the Focus Fusion Society, but be sure to have realistic expectations in that to my knowledge there is no members-only treasure trove of secret updates. You *will* get the occasional e-mail newsletter, which tends to have articles that are also entries on the public website. Join because of all the great info and progress the whole world is getting!

[DerekShannon]

I’m not going to seriously suggest these, but I feel like dorking out this morning while fixing up the computer at work:

Krimpatul – means “bind them” in….ORKISH! From the Tolkien verse “One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them / ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul” Alternatively, “Ash Nazg Krimpatul” could be the ANK, “One Ring to Bind Them All.” And the DPF is sortuva ring to bind stuff, right? Hee. http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/257.html

Galu-Kaunshau-Folayek – means “fusion reactor” in….VULCAN! Or the GKF, or just “Galu-Kaunshaya” for the process of nuclear fusion. It sounds a bit like Russian, and what could be more synonymous with “nuclear safety?” It is tough to say (maybe just “Kaunshaya” or “Folayek,”) but less evil than Orkish, and Eric is very logical! http://www.starbase-10.de/vld/

Mygeeto – The source of the experimental power system for…the DEATH STAR! Definitely a connotation we want to promote. Means “gem” in “the ancient trade language of the Muuns.” http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mygeeto

[DerekShannon]

Hi, check out this page for more info on the experimental approach to this issue:

https://focusfusion.org/index.php/site/article/main_criticisms/

Or the technical paper(s) for more detail.

[DerekShannon]

Yes, it’s called two hundred 5MW generators!

Seriously, if Discovery finally launches, the ISS will get up to just over 100kW. Don’t be so greedy! ;-D

What do you want to do with the full GW, anyhow? After all, I don’t know if we can trust you not to subdue the globe with an orbital laser platform…..

[DerekShannon]

Shout-out to Rezwan for inspiring my Persian-related suggestion: Mithra, “protector of truth and justice and the source of cosmic light,” whose name comes from proto-Indo-Iranian meaning “that which causes binding.”

[DerekShannon]

A quick video tour of the Chile lab–Even with just the video function of a typical digital camera–might be an easy way to give people a sense of what is currently happening. Part One of what could become an ongoing video blog, if you will. And it could be bilingual, with Spanish and English versions!

[DerekShannon]

1. No. But in the experimental stage, the generation of neutrons is important for diagnostic purposes, so the use of aneutronic fuel would not be ideal, anyway. The predictions for hydrogen-boron are extrapolated from experiments with deuterium and helium. Use of hydrogen-boron will be phased in as future experimental work progresses. In terms of how long fusion has been sustained, you can simply respond that the confinement product (which factors in time, energy, and density) calculated for the Texas A&M experiments (5×10^15 keV*sec/cm3), while controversial, would be a record at the time if correct.

2. This is an engineering issue for a commercial prototype that is down the road a ways compared to the near-term question of whether net energy can be generated at all. But you can consult the “Energy Flow Sequence Diagram” at http://lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/business_plan.htm for a sense of how it would work.

3. A commercial DPF would pulse with a frequency below that at which thermal effects would become a problem. But preliminary estimates suggest 1000 pulses/second (1kHz) would not be a problem, and that is enough for plenty of power (5MW) given the low cost. If it can only pulse 600 times per second, then 3MW–That would be nothin’ to cry about.

4. We don’t know that it is, but we are finding out in not much time for a lot less money.

5. Don’t waste time on people who just want to snark.

If you want to answer questions at this level of detail, the Arxiv paper regarding the Texas A&M work is readable. Find it here: http://lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/PROSPECTS_FOR_P11B_FUSION.htm

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