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: So, I wrote.
Date: Mar 12, 3:44 pm
Poster: Richard Hester

On Mar 12, 3:44 pm, Richard Hester wrote:

This would be pretty depressing, except that I would consider the Fusor to be more of a colliding beam device rather than a scheme for plasma confinement. Not that it makes breakeven any closer, but Earnshaw's theorem might not be a real issue here... You will get some recirculation of ions depending on the mean free path (low background pressures, aux ionization, high voltage, moderate dimensions will help). The potential well might as readily be considered a space charge effect due to the concentration of the ion current rather than some sort of static confinement.
You can get a similar recirculation of electrons in a normal electron tube biased as a Barkhausen oscillator and use it to generate RF, albeit inefficiently. Strange to relate, grid dissipation is an issue in this application as well.

Richard Hester

>So, I wrote. >Can the current forms of the IEC break even? No. Why?
><>>
>>The IEC of today is fundamental flawed in its conception, because what drives it prevents it from breaking even.
>
>Jim asked.
>
>Please elucidate further? How does electrostatic drive prevent it from breaking even?
>**************************************************
>Ok, lets get into it. In a nut shell two words, Earnshaw's theorem.
>
>How it relates to IEC's is simple, " Schemes for equilibrium plasma confinement which involve (((( (only) )))) Electrostatic fields may be expected to fail since they violate Earnshaw's theorem. Moreover, any configuration of such which might represent a potential well for particles of one sign would inevitably constitute a hill for those of opposite sign."
>
>The problem with the concept is further complicated by the fact that for a glow discharge system we seem to have a kind of impedance reactance. If this sounds far fetch. Compare the principals that govern capacitance and then read the following statement over again.
>*************************************************