[Francisl]

Would it be possible for the Focus Fusion Society to get the raw presentation video from Google and post the edited version? The video will lose its impact if it gets too old.

[Francisl]

Here is an interesting article on The Key to Ion Beams’ Polarizability. Does this suggest that the axial magnetic field is polarizing the ion beams? Will different gases need different polarization forces?

[Francisl]

Tulse wrote: Why aren’t smart angel investors flocking to the doors of LPP?

My view is that smart angel investors are looking for things they understand and can calculate the risk/reward ratio for.
They don’t know much about fusion and what they do know suggests that the risk is great and the reward is distant
and small compared to other things they can invest in. If fusion power turns out to be cheap then investors will
make side bets in the parts of the economy that will be affected.
Big energy users have the most to gain if fusion is successful. Companies that run big computer server farms would
seem to be likely investors. Steel, aluminum and cement manufacturers along with nitrogen fertilizer makers etc.
should be interested.
I doubt that any of those companies would make a large contribution by themselves. They may be willing to
make donations through their trade associations. The individual amounts may be modest but the total could be substantial.

[Francisl]

You may want to contact your local TV stations to send reporters to view your event. If the story is good enough they will send it to the major networks. They want a short story with impressive eye candy.

[Francisl]

I listen to NPR National Public Radio. They have national coverage and are well respected. The link to the Contact Us page will allow you to submit a press release or a story item. They may want to verify your story before they release it and they may request an in depth story.

I also follow Science Daily which is a daily online science news magazine. They normally re-publish articles and press releases that have been verified. It seems to be followed by TV news stations because I see the same story that I just read online.

[Francisl]

Joeviocoe wrote: How simple (or difficult) would it be to create the entire Anode/crown assembly out of one solid mass of metal? No metal/metal contact surfaces at all? Could any modern fabrication (3d Printing) or rapid prototyping work to build this?

That will probably happen when the optimum design has been finalized. Flexibility in shape, placement and materials is important now in the experimental phase of development.
Soldering, brazing and welding of the elements would precede making and machining castings in a foundry.

[Francisl]

I have two questions about the plasma.
1. Can the plasma sheath be made diffuse enough and cover enough electrode area that the discharge intensity is reduced to the point where metal vaporization is insignificant?
For example can a corona charge be created around the electrodes to create a larger conductive area around the electrodes?
2. The metal ions are much heavier than the deuterium ions. Can the momentum of the metal ions be used to separate them from the pinch?

[Francisl]

asymmetric_implosion wrote: One could argue that breakeven in itself is a big deal and it is. My opinion is a pinch device has reasonable odds of making it to breakeven first but it won’t be a PF.

An experiment at Sandia using Z is my bet right now.

Is the information gained from one device applicable to the other one since they are both pinch devices?

[Francisl]

Has LPPX received their leak detector yet?
Here are some links to rental units:
http://www.heliumleakdetection.net/Helium-Leak-Detectors/helium-mass-spectrometer-leak-detectors.html
http://www.lacotech.com/services/leakdetectorrental.html
http://www.atecorp.com/products/varian-vacuum/vspr021.aspx

[Francisl]

Here is another form of fund raising. It is a little closer to the traditional version.

[Francisl]

I have another question. I don’t know the amount of vacuum leakage in FoFu1 but I’m guessing that it is small but irritating. Is it practical to surround the problem leakage area with a low pressure blanket of the gas that should be present in the chamber? That could prevent contamination from unwanted gases.

[Francisl]

I have some questions.
How do you measure the relative temperatures of ions versus electrons in a plasma?
If free hot electrons in a plasma have little temperature effect on ions, then does it matter if there is some radiation loss from the electrons?

Is the proposed onion device a charge collection unit for high speed electrons or a photoelectric unit? If it is a photoelectric unit it should be able to capture the radiation loss from hot electrons. That would mean that anything from high powered lasers to x-ray machines should be able to test the onion concept. An appropriately equipped university lab could design and test a unit with the energy spectrum of a dpf. Maybe it could be a thesis project.

[Francisl]

Here is an interesting article that may be relevant: Turbulent Flows in 2-D Can Be Calculated in New Model . It is connected to this journal reference: A stochastic model of cascades in two-dimensional turbulence .
The math implications are far beyond my abilities but the textual descriptions indicate similarities between plasma sheaths and other physical systems. Can this model help to simplify the computer coding?

[Francisl]

asymmetric_implosion wrote: A lot of science needs to be done before you can claim to understand the economics because you don’t know what you need to make the system work. Gain is a necessary but not sufficient condition to produce a viable fusion power plant.

I agree that gain would push the supporting technologies like switches and capacitors (yeah, these guys burn out faster than the switches). The potential pitfall is pushing beyond fundamental physics limitations of materials. Many of the problems with the switches and capacitors are material wear and failure. Thyratrons are already pushed to their limits on the material side by using hydrogen as the source gas to limit ion damage on the cathode and refractory materials when merited. There is nothing left that can be done. Diamond switches, which have been mentioned on this site a few times, are difficult to trigger because of the large band gap that makes them large voltage hold off. The purity of the material is just getting good enough to approach the theoretical hold off limits.

Information on Thyratrons is available from the vendors, English Electric Valve and L-3 Communications Electron Devices. The bulk sales rates are just guesses based upon the limited numbers I buy. The cost per J for the solid state number is based upon a plasma focus built by SRL that stored ~2 kJ and cost ~$2M to run at 80 Hz and 200 kA.

There are vendors who can customize equipment to your specifications. I checked and found R. E. Beverly III & Associates. They make spark gap switches that are very similar to the one used by FoFu1. They have a list of products for high voltage work.

This article describes a switch that is related to the thyratron but more rugged and could be cheaper. Characterization of high power Pseudospark Plasma Switch (PSS)

Further developments are just waiting for enough demand.

[Francisl]

I liked the presentation about Effects of axial magnetic field on neutron production rate in a cylindrical inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device.
It’s another indication that the concept works.

[Author]

Posts