Pulsed Fusor Schemes

[Richard Hester]

Attached is a *.gif file showing two possible setups for a pulsed fusor. One setup uses resistive charging, and would be useful for low rep rates and getting one's feet wet. The other shows a more ambitious resonant charging scheme suitable for higher rep rates that boosts the incoming HV supply by approximately a factor of two. This scheme requires specially designed inductors that can hold off a HV fast rise time pulse. Some snubbing will also be required for the blocking diodes to prevent their eventual destruction.
Both schemes have the advantage that the thyratron switch is referred to ground, greatly simplifying both the drive and the heater supply requirements.
Neither of these schemes is necessarily what the U. of Illinois crowd used in their pulsed fusor experiments, but are instead what I would try if I were building a pulsed fusor.