Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Carl Willis on 2008-02-27 21:38
|
I don't know about the last couple weeks, but I had the honor of visiting the EMC2 lab maybe a month ago. They are under considerable constraint with regard to dispensing information about their efforts, according to Rick Nebel, because of the nature of their funding. They don't want to put the cart before the horse and make a lot of noise until some results are in. Undoubtedly, despite their silence for a little while, Dr. Nebel appreciates the enthusiasm from the hobbyists and bloggers and is just exercising a little restraint to avoid drawing a crowd (or more of a crowd than they already have).
The effort is very professional, the crew is made of experienced people who get their hands dirty, and progress is occurring at a rapid rate. The WB-7 vacuum chamber is a dream: stainless steel with hinged doors, large enough for a person to sit in (it would be cramped, but still). It was welded by the same guy who welded my "Carl's Jr.," a real craftsman, but EMC wanted it so fast that it couldn't even be leak-checked before coming to the lab--that was done on site. They definitely have the "balls to the wall." I brought them a BTI PND dosimeter as a little token of my appreciation for the tour and in the hopes that they get neutrons soon. I watched a video of their first plasma in helium. They've got guys working on a magnet current switching scheme and RF plasma diagnostics, among many other aspects. Parts (MaGrids) from the previous WB systems were sitting out on the office floor and were informative to look at. If I tried to describe their program in any specificity here, I'd be abusing my privilege of being a tourist in their lab. But basically, it looked to me like a vigorous and enthusiastic effort. So there's my chirce nugget of gossip for the day.
-Carl |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by falstaff on 2008-02-27 22:01
|
Thank you Carl for the news.
I thought I had read that funding was mostly some left over government monies vs return seeking private investment, and thus would not be subject to close hold. Perhaps not.
Falstaff |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Carl Willis on 2008-02-27 22:58
|
I don't think they have any return-seeking private investment (not that I know that for a fact).
They are intentionally taking a quieter, out-of-the-limelight approach that contrasts perhaps with Robert Bussard's very public media blitz before he died. There could be many reasons. Calling it "secrecy" would not be appropriate; it's just simply discretion. They're working on a big idea that has stirred up public enthusiasm and has large potential benefits. They probably don't really want tourists by the busload, reporters asking questions, free-energy wingnuts circling the place, etc., and I get the impression their sponsor doesn't want this either.
-Carl |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Richard Hull on 2008-02-28 10:43
|
Their sponsor is probably still the navy, but perhaps not the part of the navy that needs to be outted.
This has been a long and tedious effort operated on as much of a shoestring budget as the original Farnsworth effort in relative dollars. In otherwords, the effort is moved forward by true dedicated believers and not 9 to 5 ers. I was wondering about the verve of the current players. Carl's report seems to point out that they are on mission as if Bussard was there and believe in the effort.
Bussard was cagey about his funding and, apparently, nothing much has changed in that realm.
I wish the effort all the best as I did years ago when Tom worked there, but don't see a win at the end of the tunnel. Hope I'm wrong though.
Richard Hull |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Tom Ligon on 2008-02-28 12:06
|
Carl.
Thanks for showing them one of those. I never heard back, but I sent them some info on what you fusor guys are using last fall. If I were asked to do peer review on this project, I'd feel a lot better with some non-electronic proof of fast neutrons to back up what we all know can be electric arc counters.
I did learn last fall that not only did they retain the super-shielded setups I put on the neutron counters, they added a couple more layers of insurance. I suspect their counters would ignore even Richard's monster Tesla coil's best efforts to create false counts. But I would also expect the counters would be the first focus of any nay-sayers, and rightly so. |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Duane Oldsen on 2008-02-28 12:29
|
Where precisely are the EMC2 offices located?
Duane |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Carl Willis on 2008-02-28 15:19
|
| Santa Fe, NM. |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Duane Oldsen on 2008-02-28 19:11
|
Gracias. 
Duane |
|
Subject Re: EMC2 News?
Posted by Richard Hull on 2008-02-29 10:01
|
Tom, you have to push these guys onto the bubble detector. It is the only real measure of success in fusion. It is so good that you can use it as a a proof test against the electronic instrumentation. Nay-Sayers will go up against electronic instrumentation in a quick New York minute if they find out they don't have a certified nuclear instrumentation specialist as part of the team.
As you might be aware from recent postings, we successfully nay-said fusion results just recently here where an electronic counter told of 10e 6 or 107 fusions per second and the bubble detector, once in hand, showed the electronic result to be a complete joke, based on arc counts. The bubble detector showed almost no fusion taking place. That's a big difference from 10 million fusions a sec to a few hundred, if that.
Advise them strongly not to take a chance on electronic counters until the bubble detector jibes with the electronics.
Richard Hull |
|
 |  |