New build from California

[Erik Burrows]

Hello all,
I'm in the process of building a Fusor for fun in my garage. I'm am just about to start plasma tests, working toward real fusion in the next few weeks. My build is documented on my web site here:

http://www.erikburrows.com/?node=Farnsworth+Fusor

I will be generating deuterium from heavy water with a fuel cell kit, both of which I have already acquired. Next (and hopefully last) on the shopping list is some neutron bubble detectors. I'll wait until I have a nice, stable star before investing in those though!

Please let me know if you have any hints at obvious pitfalls, for me, or questions on my build.

Thanks,
Erik Burrows

[Dennis P Brown]

Hello, and welcome! Do check the FAQ's about generating deuterium from heavy water - getting it sufficiently dry is extremely difficult and critical for the fusor to generate neutrons. Someone has done this and posted an excellent account. Best of luck!

[Erik Burrows]

Hi Dennis,
Yes, I have read about the how critical it is to dry the deuterium. That's why I went the fuel-cell electrlolyzer route rather than a normal wet-electrode type, but I am seeing a little condensation in my H2 tube when testing with normal water, so it looks like I'll have to setup a drying system anyway.

-Erik

[Rich Feldman]

Welcome, Erik. Please keep us posted (but not here under Introductions).

Solid dessicants are probably more convenient than cold traps as hydrogen dryers. We could go see what Bob Reite used in his first fusion report here. Or Tucker Sandbakken, who I think was first to show us a serious Hydrocar-based deuterium generator.

I've long been curious about the reason for (and amount of) moisture in H2 from PEM cell electrolysis.
Does water permeate the membrane, albeit much more slowly than H+ ?

[edit] Found one answer, so far, to my first question. https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics ... ectrolysis says "The hydrogen ions migrate from the cell anode to the cell cathode, or hydrogen electrode, under the effect of the electric field imposed across the cell, while the electrons are transferred by a dc power source. The protons and electrons recombine at the cell cathode to produce hydrogen. Liquid water is also released at the cathode due to a process called electro-osmotic drag. "

[Erik Burrows]

Liquid water is also released at the cathode due to a process called electro-osmotic drag. "[/i]

Fascinating, thanks Rich!