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: Neutron Moderator
Date: Apr 15, 08:11 am
Poster: Richard HullOn Apr 15, 08:11 am, Richard Hull wrote:
>I just read Richard's message about your new
> fusor and the trouble you thought you might have
>with fast neutrons hitting the ccd pickup tube.
> How about a water box from glass, like a small
>fish tank that the camera can look thru? It should
>at least do less damage then full force bombardment.
> Or try a small plastic gold coated mirror like
>an omni-view welders lens set at 45 degrees and
> have the camera into it.
> Just a thought.
> Bob
>
Good idea Bob! I thought about that too, actually I have some nice 1.5" thick plexiglass bullet proof window material. Unfortunately, the small viewport window clear aperture of 1.25" plus the 1.5" thickness of hydrogenous plexi would not allow for much field of view, (mainly to observe star mode onset), for the CCD. This would set the camera back a bit far. On a 6" chamber a bigger window would weaken the structure too much and upset the geometry beyond what I am willing to tolerate.
Certainly with a large chamber and a larger viewport, this would be a snap. I still have the big 10" beljar project under way which is 100% clear.
I have been stunned by the beautiful stars in the little 6" bell jar system. The star appears at its best just after I ion clean the system by using huge neodymium -iron- boron magnets to draw huge ion currents from the poissor. This action buries trash and other nasties ala ion pump action. I have filmed a good bit of these star mode scenarios and the most number of rays I have counted at one time have been 15. The poissor becomes a tiny almost microscopic central spot the size of a BB as the recirculation improves around 10 microns.
Richard Hull