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: p + B11 reaction
Date: Feb 24, 11:14 pm
Poster: Pierce NicholsOn Feb 24, 11:14 pm, Pierce Nichols wrote:
> Of course, the problem is getting to the required voltage, which will require careful pumping and pressure monitoring, not to mention meticulous high voltage technique. Most folks are trying to pump past the pressure of interest... If the pressure is too high, you'll probably arc and destroy your grid (and maybe your power supply). We are talking here about submicron pressures with a third grid to provide ionization.
I really don't think that glow discharge is the way to go for power production. I think a low-pressure approach with carefully controlled ionization through electron collision (produced by a dispenser cathode and ionization grid, after Hirsch-Meeks) is the way to go. Glow discharge means losing far too many ions to thermalization through collisions with neutrals in the chamber.
>Other possibilities for introducing boron are lithium borohydride (keep it away from air and moisture - extremely reactive solid), or using a hydrogen fill and placing a boron target in the fusion chamber. The boron would be vaporized with a pulsed laser (another use for that e-bay toy...).
A fusor naturally generates very high intensity electron flows out from the center grid. I favor using thin boron plates in the path of the electron beams. It also gets them out *ionized*.
-p