[Francisl]

The current concept of scaling up is to use multiple dpf units. That way one unit could be down for service while other units carry the load. The units would be deployed in a network similar to cell phone towers. This gives the energy network great resilience in case of natural disasters or sabotage. The cost of long distance distribution systems would be reduced.
As a practical matter, each unit produces a lot of heat in a very concentrated volume. That heat has to be removed fast enough to prevent the electrodes from being damaged. Some of these engineering concerns will be better known when the FF1 unit produces significant power.

[Francisl]

I can’t offer any insights on the MIT news but I do have some thoughts about it. This news can stimulate more interest in fusion projects other than ITER. As a research tool it will give a boost to plasma physics and superconductor magnet construction.
The magnets will be the most interesting part of the project for the next few years. There could be useful spinoffs like better MRI machines for medical use or more efficient motors for industrial use etc..
Now I will speculate. This type of machine will convert fusion energy into heat to run turbines. Suppose these powerful magnets can give precise control over the plasma. It may be possible to siphon off a small beam of very energetic particles through a magnetic tunnel and use a direct energy capture system like LPP proposes. Then it would be possible to constantly feed in new fuel and extract helium and other fusion products.
Another speculation. Suppose these magnets allow fast pulsing in the field strength. Each time the pulse is stronger the fusion yield increases. As the pulse decreases the fusion yield decreases. The pulsing fusion yields will amplify the magnetic force in the plasma that is pushing back against the magnetic force from the magnets. The pulsing magnetic fields allow energy to be extracted from the plasma in a transformer type action. Of course this is assuming a significant net energy production from the fusion reactions.
Another possibility is that these magnets could be used in other magnetic confinement fusion projects.

[Francisl]

I looked at the pdf report. There are some interesting results. The research is at a very basic level. According to page thirteen of the report there are scientists with backgrounds in plasma physics, astrophysics, electrical engineering, and chemistry examining this project. They have access to much more expertise than LPP has. I think they need to continue the research.

[Francisl]

I don’t know about simple calculations but here is a database of reactions: https://www-nds.iaea.org/exfor/endf.htm

[Francisl]

This is a related article when you take into account variable densities of matter.
Doing without dark energy: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171214100859.htm

[Francisl]

Actually the scaling power is not a law. It is more a rule of thumb based on curve fitting neutron or x-ray yields versus input current. Some literature compilations show scaling powers of 3.6 to 4.5. The 5th power scaling is probably the upper limit of efficiency predicted by LPPs theory.

Here is a link to some papers discussing the scaling models: http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2015%20papers/2015%20Publications.pdf

Here is a link to modeling dpf devices using Excel spreadsheets: http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/modelpackage/File1RADPF.htm

[Francisl]

This is the easy link: https://lppfusion.com/new-record-fusion-yields-as-fofu-1-shows-rapid-scaling/

This is more recent and complicated: http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2014%20papers/4%20pub%2014%20jofe33%20Revw%20Lee%20code.pdf

[Francisl]

That idea is discussed in this paper “Accelerator based fusion reactor” http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1741-4326/aa7642/meta

There are other related projects listed on the internet.

[Francisl]

Hello Aleem,
I have not seen that complex a subject discussed in detail on this site. The homepage of your reference has some excellent information but it will take time and study to understand it. Much of the theoretical calculations have been reduced to computer models and engineers try to optimize these models using data from their experiments. Every machine can yield different results.
Here is a link from your reference to a computer model: http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/modelpackage/UPF.htm
Here are links from two important researchers in the field: Sing Lee https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I7-ODPQAAAAJ&hl=en and S H Saw https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8f-ocZcAAAAJ&hl=en.
Here is a link to some information from LPPFusion: https://lppfusion.com/?s=circuit

You may need access to libraries that subscribe to some of the publications if you want to read them for free.

[Francisl]

Hi meems,
There are practical problems that arise with higher pressures. Shock waves can damage equipment as LPPFusion found out in these early experiments: https://lppfusion.com/breaking-records-and-window/.
I haven’t looked up the link yet but I remember reading an article that the plan is to increase pressures to reduce the percentage of impurities from the electrodes. This will also increase the fusion yields. That requires higher currents to maintain high temperatures in the larger mass of fuel. The power delivery system will be reconfigured to provide those higher currents.

I don’t know if plasmoids can form in starting conditions using liquids or solids. I suppose it is possible to engineer a system that could do that. A dpf is a type of particle accelerator that concentrates the beam into a tiny volume and compresses it with a strong magnetic field.
It is possible to pass a very large current through a liquid or a solid, convert that to a plasma and compress it with a strong current and magnetic field.
That would be close to what a Z machine does if it had a liquid or solid target. http://www.sandia.gov/z-machine/about_z/how-z-works.html It does not have the particle accelerator function that a dpf has and relies on heating and compression from a very large current.

[Francisl]

Look at these links: https://lppfusion.com/?s=rogowski and https://lppfusion.com/page/2/?s=beam

There is a keyword search box in the top right corner of the page on these links.

[Francisl]

This is the currently posted timeline: https://lppfusion.com/development-tasks-and-milestones/.
To answer your question, it looks like hydrogen/boron-11 will be tested after the second generation of beryllium electrodes is installed.

[Francisl]

The neutral gas in a ff device is at low pressure. When the electrical discharge occurs in the chamber the neutral gas is changed to a plasma that is a good conductor. A powerful electrical current creates a very strong magnetic field in the plasma and squeezes the plasma to a very dense state. The effort now is to increase the current enough so that the plasma is squeezed to a solid state. At that point the temperature, density and time should be sufficient to create good fusion yields.
Look at this description: https://lppfusion.com/fusion-power/dpf-device/

[Francisl]

You may be interested in this: Particle-in-Cell and Kinetic Simulation Software Center
https://picksc.idre.ucla.edu/

[Francisl]

Are you curious about this reaction or do you see a benefit to creating it?

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