Fusion Message Board

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: Cylindrical or Axial flow IEC
Date: Jan 13, 1:08 pm
Poster: Jim Lux

On Jan 13, 1:08 pm, Jim Lux wrote:

>This sounds like it was constructed in a piece of pyrex process pipe. Similar setups were used for HCN lasers back at my alma mater.
> Richard Hester
>

Dimensions of electrodes and spacings as given in: Chacon, Bromley, and Miley: "Prospects of the Cylindrical IEC Fusion Device as a Neutron Source"

Anode length 5 cm, Cathode length 15 cm, gap between anodes and cathode, 36 cm, Gap between anode and end cap, 23 cm. radius of device 5 cm

Sure, this seems easier, but from the paper, I think it takes a bunch more voltage to get significant neutron production. Is the goal here to make an easy, simple, cheap thing that does fusion or a neutron source (in which case the spherical geometry is probably better), or to produce neutrons period or what..

If all you want to do is make neutrons using fusion, an electrostatic potential drop accelerator producing 200 keV deuterons hitting a deuterium target (heavy water ice?) is probably the easiest route. Total manufacturing cost, exclusive of a pump system that will pull down low enough to make the mean free path on the order of a 10 cm (i.e. around 0.1 micron (millitorr)) is probably less than $500, if not half that.

If you don't mind working with 100 kV kinds of voltages, a Gow/Ruby device would probably serve nicely.

One of the nifty things about the spherical fusor is that it looks cool....