Hello everybody!
My name is Justin and I am a junior in high school. My friends and I were originally going to create a fusor as a final project for our AP Physics class (one of us three, Logan, has already posted here), but because of time constraints decided against it. However, we are still fascinated by the idea of making a nuclear fusor at home, so we have decided to extend this idea over the summer.
We have decided to create a Farnsworth/Hirsch fusor as our first attempt (via these instructions http://makezine.com/projects/make-36-bo ... ear-fusor/), but the plan is very subject to change because even though we understand the science behind it pretty well, we do not know very well what we are doing physically, so we are trying to get as much help as we can.
Our biggest worries are obviously safety: specifically the voltage and the radiation (we don't actually know how much of a threat the radiation is). What will we need to do to ensure we are safe from radiation, and how dangerous will the radiation be for the fusor we are building?
As of now, price should not be too much of an issue, but we would still like to keep this project as cost-effective as we can. We were hoping for the whole thing to be under $800 US dollars, but we can be a bit flexible if truly necessary.
Any type of help or information would be greatly appreciated, thank you and I'm very excited to be a part of this community!
I'd like to introduce myself
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Justin Nichols
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 11:49 pm
- Real name: Justin Nichols
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Richard Hull
- Moderator
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- Real name: Richard Hull
Re: I'd like to introduce myself
The Make article describes a demo fusor and not a device capable of doing nuclear fusion.
Richard Hull
Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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Dennis P Brown
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- Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 10:46 am
- Real name: Dennis Brown
Re: I'd like to introduce myself
Welcome again. Your budget constraint will make building a real fusor rather difficult but not impossible; however, your primary concern will be obtaining the require critical equipment for under $800. Can that be done? Maybe but you are going to have to be extremely careful on e-bay or the trading post here.
There are four critical expenses for a fusor: first, the high vacuum components (either a diffusion pump with gate valve control(manual) or a turbo pump w/gate valve control); second, a source of very high voltage/power: at least 30 kV and capable of providing at least 10 ma at this voltage (this is an extremely dangerous power supply); and third, a source for deuterium gas (either a lecture bottle (very difficult to buy and expensive) or heavy water which must be broken down into deuterium gas.)
Last but far from least, a metal chamber to do the fusion in. This chamber must be capable of high vacuum - achieve 10^-5 or better. This isn't something easily built on your own. Also, to be useful, the chamber will need an access port, connection port for the high vac/gate valve, port for the HV feed through, and a window to see what is happening. For your budget, this means you either have to get very lucky here or on ebay or really master building high vac chambers.
Besides these four critical items you will need some essentials like a mechanical pump (two stage), vacuum gauge(s), some type of vacuum connectors to put all these items together, and a high voltage/power electrical feed through and a proper very high voltage cable to connect the PS and feed through (these are very expensive new.)
Finally, it is pointless to build a real fusor unless you have a means to detect neutrons - this is a major and very difficult piece of scientific equipment and not something obtainable for purchase with your budget. So, learning the electronics to build your own is the most straight forward manner to achieve this (and would be a major project in of itself and might be a good project to aim for instead of a fusor - just saying.)
Safety issues will be the deadly voltage from the power supply (will kill you with one mistake - no second chances here), x-ray radiation from the high voltage, and danger from the deuterium gas (flammable and highly explosive!)
These are some of the issues you need to address. Read the FAQ's on each sub-forums here and get a good knowledge of all these devices/equipment before buying anything.
I still think a fusor ion beam device is far easier.
Best of luck.
There are four critical expenses for a fusor: first, the high vacuum components (either a diffusion pump with gate valve control(manual) or a turbo pump w/gate valve control); second, a source of very high voltage/power: at least 30 kV and capable of providing at least 10 ma at this voltage (this is an extremely dangerous power supply); and third, a source for deuterium gas (either a lecture bottle (very difficult to buy and expensive) or heavy water which must be broken down into deuterium gas.)
Last but far from least, a metal chamber to do the fusion in. This chamber must be capable of high vacuum - achieve 10^-5 or better. This isn't something easily built on your own. Also, to be useful, the chamber will need an access port, connection port for the high vac/gate valve, port for the HV feed through, and a window to see what is happening. For your budget, this means you either have to get very lucky here or on ebay or really master building high vac chambers.
Besides these four critical items you will need some essentials like a mechanical pump (two stage), vacuum gauge(s), some type of vacuum connectors to put all these items together, and a high voltage/power electrical feed through and a proper very high voltage cable to connect the PS and feed through (these are very expensive new.)
Finally, it is pointless to build a real fusor unless you have a means to detect neutrons - this is a major and very difficult piece of scientific equipment and not something obtainable for purchase with your budget. So, learning the electronics to build your own is the most straight forward manner to achieve this (and would be a major project in of itself and might be a good project to aim for instead of a fusor - just saying.)
Safety issues will be the deadly voltage from the power supply (will kill you with one mistake - no second chances here), x-ray radiation from the high voltage, and danger from the deuterium gas (flammable and highly explosive!)
These are some of the issues you need to address. Read the FAQ's on each sub-forums here and get a good knowledge of all these devices/equipment before buying anything.
I still think a fusor ion beam device is far easier.
Best of luck.