[Ivy Matt]

I like the plasma sheath. Is the curve caused by the axial field coil?

[Ivy Matt]

I don’t know how welcome a Battle of Gonzales style sign or flag would be at the Rally to Restore Sanity, but I’m game to find out. Only problem is, I’m halfway across the country and have no means to get to the capital. Do you think the SEIU would bus me over there? Even though I’m not a member of the SEIU? Only trouble is, never having been to D.C., I’d be sorely tempted to take a side trip to the National Air & Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

I wouldn’t exactly consider getting sued by the National Rifle Association free publicity. Anyone who does is welcome to the “National Reactor Association” trademark. 😉

[Ivy Matt]

I recognized the similarity to a gatling gun, but I’m afraid I don’t see the crescent. And most star and crescent flags have the star beside the crescent rather than above it. Lots of flags have stars, although I thought the eight-pointed star was a better representation of fusion or the plasma sheath than the common five-pointed star. If the motto is too defiant, I suppose I could have used the more ambiguous “come and get them”, which sounds more like an offer to get your own focus fusion device, although it is also a direct translation of Leonidas’ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ. Er…no offense intended, Rezwan. :red: I suppose the “Come And Take It” flag may not appeal to Mexicans for similar reasons.

Anyway, I just liked the idea of the focus fusion device as the ultimate symbol of independence and self-sufficiency, something that might appeal to card-carrying members of the National Reactor Association. 😉

[Ivy Matt]

I’m not sure I’m a fan of the Unilateral Disarmament symbol. 😉

(Or the Nazi “life” rune; although in the Elder Futhark, the only meaning it had was the letter “z” [later r], and possibly “elk”. In the Younger Futhark it meant the letter “m” and “man”, which may be where the Nazis got the “life” meaning. In the Younger Futhark the “peace-symbol” rune meant “yew”. I’m not sure what that has to do with death; probably the Nazis chose it only because it was the “man”–>”life” rune upside down.)

Anyway, I decided to try my hand at a design that ought to appeal to an audience complementary to those who find the peace symbol design appealing. I’m not sure exactly what it’s saying, though: perhaps that the right of communities, families, and individuals to own a focus fusion device shall not be infringed. It may also be a gesture of defiance against corporate or government entities that feel threatened by the development of DPF fusion technology. Of course, it’s also somewhat ironic, because the DPF can’t be used as a weapon…can it?

Attached files

[Ivy Matt]

I’m not surprised the schedule (such as it was) has slipped. I do hope there are no more major equipment difficulties to contend with.

Some interesting slides in Part 4/4 at 4:11 that weren’t really covered. I take it the planned diagnostics are for the switch to pB11?

[Ivy Matt]

Requiescat in pace.

[Ivy Matt]

Well, I would have thought “advanced research” covered what LPP is doing, but I guess maybe it’s a little too advanced.

[Ivy Matt]

Okay, the various uses of the graviton are explained here. 😉

[Ivy Matt]

Yes, that’s the Difference Engine No. 2, also designed by Charles Babbage. The difference between the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine is like the difference between a calculator and a computer.

[Ivy Matt]

Thanks for the explanation! I think I’ve got it.

[Ivy Matt]

Oh, June 16th. I was wondering what Ed was doing in San Francisco when he’s supposed to be at the IAEA conference in Korea.

[Ivy Matt]

Well, according to the hypothesis, the plasma in the center is never supposed to touch the wall of the container because there’s a gradient of slightly cooler but more dense plasmas and gases filling the vessel from the center to the walls, and the centrifugal force keeps the coolest, densest gases against the container walls and the hottest, least dense plasmas in the center. The plasma in the center is confined by the cooler and slightly denser plasma that immediately surrounds it, not by the container wall.

That’s the hypothesis, anyway. From my perspective as a non-scientist, I can see that it may not work that way, but not that it necessarily won’t work that way. Possible problems that I see: 1) Centrifuges may not separate out plasmas and gases the way they do liquids and solids, so central D-T plasma is never formed. 2) Separation may work on the elements, but thermalization bleeds energy away from the center of the vessel too quickly for fusion to happen.

[Ivy Matt]

Hey, if gravitons can’t overcome electric repulsion, then what are they good for?

[Ivy Matt]

Steven Sesselmann wrote: I was lucky to capture one of the runaway reactions on video.

I thought one of the draws of fusion was that “runaway reactions” were impossible. 😉

But seriously, I hope you’re able to move forward with your research. Have you given much thought to energy capture

[Ivy Matt]

Congratulations LLNL! The more contenders, the merrier, in my opinion.

[Author]

Posts