experimental ion gun

For the design and construction details of ion guns, necessary for more advanced designs and lower vacuums.
Brett
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by Brett »

Tungsten isn't electroplated from a water solution, it's electroplated using a molten salt electrolyte.
JohnCuthbert
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by JohnCuthbert »

There is a thesis on the web (sorry, I don't know how to copy the address) on the subject of electrodeposition of NiW alloys from solutions containing tungstates. This might be adapted but I don't know.
(search on Google for tungstates and electroplating and you should find the reference)
DavidHansen
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by DavidHansen »

Maybe I won't plate it... :-P

David Hansen
DavidHansen
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by DavidHansen »

Dave,
I'm not entirely sure why you want me to put the lens between the anode and the cathode. I thought the principle was to create ions between the cathode and anode, pull them out through the anode with the accelerating potential, focus them with the Einzel lens, and pull them out the end of the gun with the extractor cone. Why would one put the lens between the anode and cathode?

David Hansen
DaveC
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by DaveC »

David...
The thought I was suggesting.. is to make the ions with a modest ionizing voltage.. 30 - 100 volts. Then using a two cylinder einzel lens along with the anode's attraction to focus them at the fusor's center. Somewhere in this thread... though, is the trajectory I ran with the anode as a simple ring...in a grounded enclosure. It did a fair job of focusing all by itself.

But the key for lenses is have them at the lowest possible potential so it doesnt get too difficult providing the voltage for them.

Hope that's clear enough to follow.

Dave Cooper
raneyt
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by raneyt »

David,

The only thing I found was a brief summary about a "gas plating" process sometimes used with tungsten. As other folks have pointed out, tungsten is not plated in a conventional aqueous process, but uses molten salt electrolytes or vapor deposition. It sounds like I'd be easier to wear a hole through a tungsten disc than to do any kind of relatively exotic plating processes.

Regards,

TIM
DavidHansen
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by DavidHansen »

Is there more than one anode? This is quite confusing. You wish to place the einzel AFTER the anode, but make the anode a ring?

A diagram would be much appreciated.

David Hansen
Brett
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Re: experimental ion gun

Post by Brett »

Thinking about this, you might be able to "plate" tungsten at home using a variation of the way quartz-halogen bulbs work; At high temperatures, tungsten-halogen compounds break down, depositing metalic tungsten, at lower temperatures, halogens attack tungsten.

So you could put the electrode in a bulb with a chunk of tungsten, heat the whole thing up, making sure that the electrode was the hottest thing in there, and eventually that's where the tungsten would collect.
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