In this space, visitors are invited to post any comments, questions, or skeptical observations about Philo T. Farnsworth's contributions to the field of Nuclear Fusion research.Subject: Re: Regulatory requirements
Date: Oct 20, 2:27 pm
Poster: Richard HesterOn Oct 20, 2:27 pm, Richard Hester wrote:
It is one thing talking to a semi-private forum like this one with like-minded folks. I for sure would not go and talk about making neutrons with the local newspaper. As for local officials, I would not even tell them I was putting in a darkroom sink, much less a fusion reactor. Mr. Lux is so right - a bureaucrat's knee-jerk response will be to say NO on anything he doesn't understand. On the other hand, it is up to you to plan your experiments responsibly so that they are not a danger to yourself and your neighbors. This goes double when you graduate from a demo fusor, with its high voltage, implosion,and
x-ray hazards, to a deuterium-fueled system that poses fire and explosion hazards in addition. Look up the explosive limits of hydrogen in air. Deuterium is, after all, just hydrogen on a chemical level. When you add all that up, the 10^6 neutrons you might get with a small fusor seem a little trivial in comparison.
Sorry about the soapbox mode, but given the regulated and litigation-prone society in which we live, it pays to be a little circumspect when doing weird science on your own.
Richard Hester
>Mr. Lux,
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>Thanks for the feedback. I was just worried that if I built my own device, and began publicly reporting neutron yields that someone might get upset (even though the dose rates would be fairly low).
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>Thanks again,
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>Robert