How should I start?

[Justin Nichols]

Hi everybody,

I've never made a fusor before and this summer I will be working on my first fusion project. I was originally going to make the Make magazine demo, but after realizing that it's not true fusion, am having doubts. I would like to actually smash deuterium together and get helium as a result, and if the Make demo won't do that, what should I do?

If I continue with the demo as a starting-off place, would I later be able to convert it into a real fusor that can handle deuterium? Would the borosilicate glass chamber be strong enough to handle the forces that go into a real fusor?

Thanks for your help and happy fusing!

[Liam David]

No, a glass chamber will not suffice for a real fusor. You need a stainless steel chamber. Look on ebay for cheap conflat or KF chamber and other components.
-Liam David

[Chris Bradley]

hmmm...

If you are spending little then there is no problem starting out with a glass demo fusor. Whether you change chambers or adopt some other strategy is yours for the creation when you get to that point. There is no practical reasons I can see why you can't put a metal box within a glass vacuum chamber to function as a fusor, but this is not the normal approach.

So you can copy others or think it through for yourself. Your project .....

[Justin Nichols]

Okay, ditching the glass chamber and looking into other options for chambers. But what if I want to be able to see the reaction? There must be a safe way to have a viewing window in the chamber, right?

[Dennis P Brown]

If you want to watch the plasma, than a window is required; as for safety of viewing, that depends on the voltage. The safest manner is simply distance.

Since you have not searched the forum about chambers designs many have used for fusion nor checked the FAQ high voltage section that discuses safety issues relative to the x-rays, you need to be aware that chambers can be made out of various vacuum connections; vacuum "T's" are popular . Adding a window to such is simple. One need not use/make or buy a spherical or any other custom made chamber but just a vacuum "T" of a size (not so small as to cause arcing issues - search for this issue in the forum) that you can readily find other cheap components. Just use good quality vacuum components (i.e. no scratches on the flange mating surfaces) that have ports large enough and the type you can easily mate to your equipment.

As for a demo fusor - why not? A demo can use a SS chamber just as easily as a glass chamber - can even be simpler than glass if you use existing vacuum components like a "T" for the main chamber; again, look at pictures in the various posts people put up of their "unique" chambers - searching this forum is a better idea than re-inventing the wheel.

Do read the FAQ's - they will save you time, money and even your life ... .