[Francisl]

The Heavy Ion Fusion Sciences articles are good. The fusion links on their home page are really good.

[Francisl]

I have an odd question. If 45 KV is not high enough, can we use a 30 to 50 KV deuterium particle beam to bombard a 45 KV pinch? Would that provide the 75 to 95 KV energy to probe the voltage levels that would be effective?

[Francisl]

Have you had any luck approaching venture firms that are familiar with the high tech energy field like GE? GE Cleantech Venture Fund

[Francisl]

An alternate power formula is P=(E^2)/R. A little increase in voltage or a little decrease in resistance makes a big difference.

[Francisl]

Aeronaut wrote:

According to table 1, table 3 and Figure 7 of this paper:

http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2010 Papers/Energies PP.pdf

Saturation occurs for 1.5MA. So, if you discharge more than 1.5MA, at low voltages, the pinch won’t achieve more than 1MA, and it doesn’t matter what configuration is used.

The page isn’t directly linkable (returns a 404 file not found error) but I was able to find the 2010 papers page. Which title are you referring to on that page?

Try this, copy and paste:

http://www.plasmafocus.net/IPFS/2010 Papers/Energies PP.pdf

[Francisl]

Is the DPF well enough insulated to withstand 90 KV?

[Francisl]

I am guessing that Eric will optimize his current setup, gather data and test his theories, project where he needs to go from here, all the while trying to gather support and funding to make the next big advance.

[Francisl]

If moving to higher voltages is the answer and if neutrons are the indicator of fusion energy, then it should be possible to use Lee’s model to determine what voltage should produce a breakeven level of neutrons.

[Francisl]

It makes sense that if the pinch current has squeezed the plasma to a dense solid plasmoid then it would take much higher levels of energy to squeeze that plasmoid even harder. The question is at what point has the plasmoid been squeezed enough to produce economical fusion? I guess the neutron yield in Lee’s model should answer that question.
There is some literature about using stepped currents. Could LPPX use their present capacitors to compress the plasma and a higher voltage capacitor for the final pinch?

[Francisl]

Has anyone tried using the Lee model code to see how it compares with the LPPX machine? Lee model code

This is the most recent paper that I found based on the Lee model code. Lee and Saw talk more about the potential roadblock that is discussed in the above messages.
http://www.plasmafocus.net/ IPFS 2010 Papers, Paper #11, The Plasma Focus- Trending into the Future.

[Francisl]

That would indeed be frustrating if those limits really apply. Lee’s and Saw’s work is based on gas pressure of 3.5 torr and a time scale of 0-10 microseconds. It would be interesting to see the computed results if they used the latest figures from the LPP November 11 report showing a gas pressure of 13 torr.
The November 11 report also gives a possible explanation for the change in resistance.
November 11 report

[Francisl]

mchargue wrote:

The idea is that an auxiliary low voltage, high current power source would be connected to the conductors for a few nanoseconds or however long it takes to establish a stable magnetic field. Then the high voltage capacitor discharges before the magnetic field collapses in the conductors. That way the high voltage current isn’t slowed down by having to establish the magnetic field that is the cause of self-inductance.

i understand what you’re saying, but i don’t believe the physics works that way. the magnetic field isn’t the cause of self-inductance, but a consequence of the current flow. there will be no effect on the high-voltage current.

From my understanding, I don’t think that there’s any way to ‘prime the pump’, so to speak, as a way of reducing the inductance (reluctance) of the FF reactor. The use of non-ferrous materials, and short, well shielded/terminated, cable lengths, is probably the best that can be done. A magnetic field is created when charges are moved, and inductance (reluctance) is related to how easily the magnetic field can propagate through space – which is related to the permeability of the material the magnetic field propagates through. Low permeability means low inductance, (copper) while high permeability means high inductance. (iron)

Pat

Please look at my explanation to vansig and see if it makes any sense. In a way I am trying to prime the pump. Inductance is a form of resistance that occurs when the current flow changes. It occurs in AC but not DC circuits. A pulsed circuit is like an AC circuit because the current flow is changing and the corresponding magnetic field is changing. This inductance is a form of resistance that is added to ohmic resistance to slow down the speed of discharging the capacitors. I am trying to create a DC type of circuit for a very brief time by removing the inductive resistance. The auxiliary power source would provide a 2.4 megamp current to prime the circuit and create the stable current flow and magnetic field. The high voltage capacitors would immediately discharge their 2.4 megamps before the auxiliary power is exhausted. There would be no break or change in the current flow resulting in DC type of circuit with no inductive resistance only ohmic resistance.
I guess that impedance is what I am really describing. This is not my area of expertise and my terminology may not be precise enough. I hope that my speculation and enthusiasm are not getting in the way of serious research.

[Francisl]

vansig wrote:

The idea is that an auxiliary low voltage, high current power source would be connected to the conductors for a few nanoseconds or however long it takes to establish a stable magnetic field. Then the high voltage capacitor discharges before the magnetic field collapses in the conductors. That way the high voltage current isn’t slowed down by having to establish the magnetic field that is the cause of self-inductance.

i understand what you’re saying, but i don’t believe the physics works that way. the magnetic field isn’t the cause of self-inductance, but a consequence of the current flow. there will be no effect on the high-voltage current.

I agree with you that the current flow is the cause of the magnetic field. As current in a conductor increases the corresponding magnetic field increases and energy is stored in that magnetic field. It takes time to establish a magnetic field in a coil and less time in a straight conductor. Once the current flow and consequent magnetic field have reached a stable peak, then the only restriction is ohmic resistance.
My crude diagram and short explanation probably weren’t clear. I suggest using an auxiliary power source to supply a relatively low voltage, high amperage current to establish the stable magnetic field in the conductors. The high voltage capacitors are discharged after the magnetic field is established. The high voltage discharges occurs before the auxiliary power shuts off. There would be no break in the current flow and no loss in the magnetic field until the capacitors are finished firing and their current declines. The magnetic field in the conductors collapses and returns the stored energy to the current flow.

[Francisl]

vansig wrote:

Is self-inductance in the cables and distribution system the main problem preventing faster discharges? I suggest making inductance a useful thing. That would require using a second circuit to pre-charge the conduction system with a large current to create a strong stable magnetic field around the conductors just before the high voltage system discharges.

I don’t see how that can work.

But i dont see induction as the problem. It’s a matter of synchronization. You have up to 2.4 MA current, fed by 12 switches, so each one rises from nothing to 200 kA, in as few nanoseconds as possible.

I have attached my concept of how this would work. I hope you can open the file.
The idea is that an auxiliary low voltage, high current power source would be connected to the conductors for a few nanoseconds or however long it takes to establish a stable magnetic field. Then the high voltage capacitor discharges before the magnetic field collapses in the conductors. That way the high voltage current isn’t slowed down by having to establish the magnetic field that is the cause of self-inductance.

The capacitor could represent a single unit or all of the units tied together. If this concept works and self-inductance is no longer a problem, then all of the capacitors can be tied in parallel to one switch and eliminate the synchronization problem.

Taking it one step further, an inductance coil can be in series in the high voltage circuit. When the charging current is shut off there could be an inductive voltage boost that could cause the high voltage current to jump the spark gap and remove the need for a spark plug.

Attached files

Inductance circuit.pdf (18 B) 

[Francisl]

Is there a diagram or wiring schematic somewhere for the spark plugs and switches so we have solid information to work with?

[Author]

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