Hello. I am a undergraduate physics major at Georgia Southern University (GSU) who is very interested in plasma physics, fusion, and the like.
I am a 'newbie' to the fusion game and have found this group to be very knowledgable about many of the aspects invovled in acomplishing fusion. The task I have at hand is to create a plasma/fusion lab on a small scale and on a minimal budget. However, resources are available to design, build, or collect much of the equipment needed to accomplish the goal of a plasma physics lab. The obvious first goal is the construction of a proper vacuum chamber and then to produce an adequate vaccum in which to do experiments.
I have a great many questions but I will first ask what reading materials are available or have been available on the topic vacuum techniques and compatible materials. I do have the 2nd edition of 'Building Scientific Apparatus: A Practical Guide to Design and Construction'(I happened to meet one of the authors, Michael A. Coplan, when I was at NIST in November. Very interesting person!) and I am looking for a used copy of 'Experimental Physics: Modern Methods'. I have not yet exhausted our library resources nor the other routes that have been pointed out by my professors and am exercising other 'unsung' avenues of obtaining information, hardware, and experiential advice.
I will be returning to the Gaithersburg area sometime within the next few months and I would like to meet some of you so that I may take notes and observe. :)
Thank you all in advance.
Indubitably.
T. Joseph Mahaney
Created on Saturday, January 06, 2001 2:35 PM EDT by Timothy J Mahaney