A week or so ago, I got curious and searched out the U.S. Patent Office site at www.uspto.gov to have a look at Robert Bussard's Polywell patent (#4,826,646). With some difficulty, I managed to get a full printout, as the .gif files for the figures are in non-standard format and require a special decoder (costs money) to view them. It is my opinion that this patent is a must read for fusor wannabes, as not only does it cite in a nutshell applicable patents (including Farnsworth's), but it lists a slew of journal articles that provide vital background material. As icing on the cake, there is a very well thought out discussion of the virtues and vices of magnetic confinement vs. electrostatic vs. Bussard's hybrid approach. I am not up to the effort, but it would definitely be a service if some enterprising individual were to archive this patent alongside Farnsworth's. In the meantime, however, visit the U.S. Patent officeon the Web and check this out. Even if you choose not to opt for the figures, the text version of the patent is accessible, and very informative.
Richard Hester
Created on Sunday, January 07, 2001 5:57 PM EDT by Richard L. Hester