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: Grid potential problems
Date: Sep 07, 8:54 am
Poster: Richard HullOn Sep 07, 8:54 am, Richard Hull wrote:
>I am interested in scaling the device down as much as possible as opposed to scaling it up as most researchers seem to be interested in doing for obvious reasons (the volume increases as the cube of the radius a greater yield should result).
******************************
Good man Al! The rush for the larger is basically what got the big boys into trouble. Bob Hirsch is now a firm believer in smaller is better. Mainly because smaller is cheaper. Many more new concepts can be investigated "on the small". In the simple fusor, in glow mode, it is pretty senseless to go much over 10" in diameter for the reactor vessel, at most! I hang at 6" because of the better probabliity of utilizing the bulk of the volume at the higher pressures found in this "bright" mode of operation. Fusor V will be a 10" unit, but I hope to work it in the pre-ionized 10-4 torr region, but that is a long way off.
A national lab couldn't justify 50 scientists and technicains huddled over a 6" fusor, so they have to scale things to keep employed and the scaling ramps up directly as friends of friends and old boy colleagues are sucked into the ever increasing vortex of spending.
I love the idea of a micro fusor. The area of actual fusion within the spherical volume is not actually known to any great precision. I have heard many ideas and thoughts on the matter.
Some claim it is in the pinpoint of the star. Others, like Bussard, think that the larger volume inside the inner grid or even just outside is the source of the bulk of fusion.
The risk is that you reduce the fusion volume to such a small level that the neutron output might be too small, but a good bit of thinking based on hands on results and the small size and ease of alteration might allow rapid maximization of the output which might or might not scale with size.
Anyway, good luck in your efforts and keep us informed.
Richard Hull