I am a USAF pilot, currently flying small transport aircraft, although I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, which I like to think enables me to at least follow some of the discussions on this board.
I first came across Farnsworth's work on fusion when I read Tom Lignon's article on the IEC fusion device in the Dec 99 issue of Analog. Until then, I hadn't heard much of anything about Farnsworth, which is surprising given the leap his work represented, as well as the drama of the circumstances surrounding it. After a few web searches, I found the Perfessor's web discussion board and followed its migration here.
I find the concept of IEC fusion to be very interesting, especially as the underlying concept and principles are much more easy to grasp than for instance, a tokamak or other exotic fusion devices. As a pilot and one interested in the exploration of the solar system, I find the prospect of fusion power plants and particularly fusion propulsion fascinating, if only for the potential they offer if made to work on a practical scale.
I am not an experimenter, although following the experiments and results of others here allows one to 'live vicariously' through others, if you will. The construction of a large scale demonstration reactor on the IEC principle would be an incredible thing to behold. I also can be quite long winded, as this post shows.
Mike Williamson
Created on Monday, January 22, 2001 7:02 PM EDT by Michael D Williamson