Reactor Update - 4/22/18
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 9:42 pm
It's been several months since I was admitted to the neutron club and I'm pleased to say I have made a quite a lot of progress since then.
This was the reactor when it did it's first fusion run:
And here it is now:
There are too many changes to count, but I'll expound on a few.
1. Aluminum chassis
I made a chassis out of 1" slotted framing to mount everything to except the roughing pump. It's light enough without the roughing pump that I can carry it on my own. The primary reasoning behind this was to make it portable.
2. Modified chamber
I replaced the long line of reducers at the back of the reactor with a cf2.75 tee in order to get rid of as many if fittings as possible. I managed to find a use for all the left over adapters as well.
3. Vacuum Gauge
I FINALLY got a proper high vacuum gauge. It's a Loadlock pressure transducer and can measure from Atmospheric pressure all the way down to 10e-5 Torr (which my system can easily reach). I picked it up for $40.
4. Control Panel
I added a control panel that monitors voltage, vacuum, and turbo speed. It also has a key switch for the high voltage, a potentiometer for the high voltage, and a switch for the turbo.
5. Pfeiffer Turbo
This is the biggest upgrade. Previously I was using a small air-cooled diffusion pump as my high vacuum pump. It didn't come with a cooling fan and I was never able to properly cool it for more than an hour. Not ideal. So, I lucked up and found a brand new Pfeiffer TMH 071p off of eBay for relatively cheap. It's maglev, 60 l's pumping speed, and came with a drive unit.
Performance:
Because of my chambers small size, I can easily get down to 10e-5 Torr in under 5 minutes. Once the chamber is isolated from the pumps, the pressure rises to about 10-20 microns within about 10 minutes and then levels off. It can sustain a plasma without the pumps on.
More Fusion?
There is only one thing stopping me from doing fusion: the deuterium line. I haven't rebuilt it. This is because I have decided that I'm going to take some time to work on other projects, not just fusion. However, I know that one day I'll be inspired to make a new deuterium line and do more fusion.
This was the reactor when it did it's first fusion run:
And here it is now:
There are too many changes to count, but I'll expound on a few.
1. Aluminum chassis
I made a chassis out of 1" slotted framing to mount everything to except the roughing pump. It's light enough without the roughing pump that I can carry it on my own. The primary reasoning behind this was to make it portable.
2. Modified chamber
I replaced the long line of reducers at the back of the reactor with a cf2.75 tee in order to get rid of as many if fittings as possible. I managed to find a use for all the left over adapters as well.
3. Vacuum Gauge
I FINALLY got a proper high vacuum gauge. It's a Loadlock pressure transducer and can measure from Atmospheric pressure all the way down to 10e-5 Torr (which my system can easily reach). I picked it up for $40.
4. Control Panel
I added a control panel that monitors voltage, vacuum, and turbo speed. It also has a key switch for the high voltage, a potentiometer for the high voltage, and a switch for the turbo.
5. Pfeiffer Turbo
This is the biggest upgrade. Previously I was using a small air-cooled diffusion pump as my high vacuum pump. It didn't come with a cooling fan and I was never able to properly cool it for more than an hour. Not ideal. So, I lucked up and found a brand new Pfeiffer TMH 071p off of eBay for relatively cheap. It's maglev, 60 l's pumping speed, and came with a drive unit.
Performance:
Because of my chambers small size, I can easily get down to 10e-5 Torr in under 5 minutes. Once the chamber is isolated from the pumps, the pressure rises to about 10-20 microns within about 10 minutes and then levels off. It can sustain a plasma without the pumps on.
More Fusion?
There is only one thing stopping me from doing fusion: the deuterium line. I haven't rebuilt it. This is because I have decided that I'm going to take some time to work on other projects, not just fusion. However, I know that one day I'll be inspired to make a new deuterium line and do more fusion.