Archived - Photos of Carl Willis' Vist to my Lab

[Frank Sanns]

Grid is a 2 1/2 inch moebius (continuous) ss wire grid in deuterium.

The 1st photo was at high pressure (hundreds of microns) and the low was in fusor star territory. The star is not so symetrical because the grids were not symetrical. Notice that the bugle jet in the top picture comes out of a different grid opening than where the fusion star jets emerge.

Frank S

[Carl Willis]

Last Monday (MLK Day here in the US) I drove over to Frank's home / lab only a couple hours from Columbus. His deuterium-breathing, diffusion-pumped Fusor was a very impressive sight to see, with a large 4" Conflat window to look in on the action. I really miss the days of having my own Fusor to tinker with...

We heard some above-background counting on a Ludlum 12-4 "Bonner ball" during operation but unfortunately were limited to maybe 30 kV tops as his bigger Glassman supply was claimed by flooding a while back.

I saw two differently sized and differently constructed cathode grids operate in this fusor. The larger grid is comprised of a single piece of wire and, given all the frustrations of spot-welding wire loops together, probably merits some more consideration as a construction technique. I'm really not at all convinced that symmetry and recirculation play major roles in our high-pressure Hirsch-type fusors, although a nice star-mode discharge is a beautiful phenomenon. Frank's small grid was made the standard way with loops of wire. Actually it melted apart at orange heat in our run. The effect of cathode construction and material on neutron yield would be a very fruitful area of study. Other research has shown that solid refractory-metal cathode spheres perform essentially as well as grids in at least some fusion reactions, for example.

Frank's fusor displayed some striking fluorescent patterns on the outer grid (perforated and perhaps painted metal strip material) and also on some accumulations of what might have been backstreamed pump oil on the lower surfaces of the vessel. The former were reddish-orange, while the latter were a greenish blue.

Finally, I got a demo of Frank's superlative amateur radio station! The gear is capable of moonbounce, meteor scatter, and even picking up return signals from a high-power military radar in the area. It was a motivation to get my own radio out again.


Thanks Frank!

-Carl

BTW... If there are any fusioneers or related hobbyists somewhere in the very general vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, I'd be thrilled to meet up with you and might even be able to add some suggestions. There is just no substitute for meeting up in person.

[Richard Hull]

I'll bet you guys missed having the much more efficient and sensitive large area He3 system you observed at my house. I am sure it would have been singin' a tune near Frank's fusor. Remember how his rem ball system only gave a few clicks a minute around my fusor while my He3 unit was going nuts. I know some of it was due to RFI, but it started singing long before the internal arcing occured near 30kv. The rule is, if you have to go to electronic detection, go He3 with a large tube and moderator. You'll pick up fusion much sooner and with little need for complex statistical analysis. The ear-brain combo will pick it out immediately.

I have yet to tickle the low end of the HE3 system using statistics. I have reported that at 10-11 kv applied, one can hear and sense an increase.

Very nice images and it gets an "archived" for the effort.

Richard Hull

[Carl Willis]

Hi Richard,

I think it's an understatement to say that we missed having an He-3 counter :>) Your counter setup had me sold on that.

Frank has a nice homebrew BF3 detector with a tube that is longer and hence more efficient than the little ones in the Bonner balls, but we really didn't use it on this occasion. I have two OLD but larger BF3 tubes from Nancy Wood, but ultimately the better proportional gas properties and higher cross-section of He-3 motivate its use if at all humanly possible.

-Carl

[Frank Sanns]

One thing that IS interesting about the Ludlum 12-4 is that the background is so very low (1-2 counts per HOUR) that when you hear a click, it causes you to stop and all of your attention focuses momentarily on the sphere. Carl and I both were doing it and Pavlov could not have conditioned us any better. You stop and pause and think "was the the hourly click that just happend to come as the pressure was coming down or was it the start of fusion. Then the clicks become regular and enough clicks are logged in the brain and they become expected.

There is no substitute for the "singing" of your He3 Richard! At the HEAS meeting, I almost took foot and ran when I heard the number of clicks from you detector! Again my brain was thinking bonner sphere and I was shuddering at what the neutron flux rate must have been. Then the reality of the size and effeciency of your He3 setup sunk in and I could admire the setup. Ok, I have to say it, "Yours is bigger than ours Richard!"

Frank S.

[Richard Hull]

Actually, as Carl will most certainly agree, the MODERATOR VOLUME was the key factor coupled with tube size and detection gas cross section. Many, many neutrons that were never headed at the tube actually got counted thanks to the moderator volume! Neutrons that had actually flown past the tube were turned around in reverse and entered the tube. Likewise, few, if any, of those neutrons sailing on a direct collison course for the dead center of the tube ever entered the tube.

I always find this thermalization process a pretty cool notion. My Bonner sphere, my superb Snoopy and all of my 3 PNC-1's are pretty much on standby with all batteries removed in defference to the HE3 system and the BTI bubble detector.

I do hope to report on low end statistical detection with the He3 if my lab ever warms up. This is a must know if I ever poke or dink around with cold fusion, sono-fusion or other lesser or more questionable forms.

Frank, you must build a system with moderator around the large BF3 tube you have. I too have a massive BF3 tube obtained years ago from Don Orie at OE tech. I didn't use it due to the fact that I had an He3 tube on hand. You results shouldn't be too far off the He3 in the larger sized BF3.

Richard Hull

[Frank Sanns]

Richard,

You don't happen to know where to get an HN to MVH adapter do you? Don O. is out.

Frank S.

[Richard Hull]

Virtually 100% of the large BF3 tubes and He3 tubes demand HN connectors. (for the newbies - This is a special form of high voltage, super shielded connector for use in critcal applications.)

I found my only two BNC female to HN male adapters and a couple of regular male HN cable plugs at hamfests over these long years where many connector dealers have a "hell box". (old used connectors that are oddball and just in a massed pile or box that you must "root" through.) Most of them were $5.00 or less.

Pasternak, the connector king, commands $65.00 per adapter!

Richard Hull

[Mike Veldman]

Fair Radio Sales has some HN connectors for $5 or $6 each, I don't know about adapters though. The ones I have were from military or medical surplus equipment.

mike

[Frank Sanns]

Thanks for the lead Mike. If they have them I will grab em up.

Frank S.