Fusion vs Fission.\u00a0 Fusion lighter elements to heavier elements.\u00a0 Fission heavier elements to lighter elements.\u00a0 Fusion more efficient then fusion when optimal used and designed.<\/p>\n
Methods of fusion, magnets, lasers, Farnsworth.\u00a0 NIF uses lasers and deuterium.\u00a0 Lasers hit deuterium after reflecting off gold tube then create a field of xrays which then compact deuterium.<\/p>\n
Magnet confinement fusion reactor:\u00a0 ITER.\u00a0 (Joke:\u00a0 Eats funds, 16 billion dollars.)\u00a0 Like a florescent light bulb to create plasma and use magnets to focus and control the stream of plasma.\u00a0 Turn the tube into a doughnut and eliminate the inefficiency with the ends.\u00a0 Magnets are made out of superconducting material.\u00a0 Take 30-60 years to construct.<\/p>\n
Takes forever even to get access to play with the unit and it costs so much that not many experiments are run.<\/p>\n
Farnsworth reactor (IEC Fusion).\u00a0 Use electrostatic field to control plasma.\u00a0 Vacuum chamber with a spherical grid or electrode in the middle.\u00a0 Ionize the chamber after injecting deuterium.\u00a0 3 pathways deuterium + deuterium reaction can go.\u00a0 Deuterium Proton Neutron + Electron (Hydrogen + Neutron).\u00a0 The reaction creates helium 4 that does not want to stay together.\u00a0 If it does it releases gamma ray.\u00a0 Or releases gamma ray and becomes helium 3.\u00a0 Or may release Tritium. (I think)<\/p>\n
High Voltage:\u00a0 10Kev to 120Kev.\u00a0 More the current the better.\u00a0 To get voltage:\u00a0 Regulated lab supply, X-ray, neon, etc…<\/p>\n
High Vacuum:\u00a0 Get rid of other things in chamber.\u00a0 Vacuum pump, Roughing pump, Diffusion pump, Turbo pump, Welch 14000, really small Edwards diffusion pump.<\/p>\n
Nuclear Instrumentation:\u00a0 Geiger Tube, Neutron Detection, Counter\/Scaler, Bubble Detector, Activation.\u00a0 To be safe and a way to measure neutrons (Boron Trifloried filled tube is detector).<\/p>\n
Safe:\u00a0 Leaded glass, xrays produced at 50,000 volts.<\/p>\n
Pressurized Deuterium gas (problems getting it).\u00a0 Pressurized research grade from a big company.\u00a0 NRC (Nuclear Regulation)\u00a0 Electrolysis unit.\u00a0 LOTS of regulation on deuterium.\u00a0 Expensive.\u00a0 600$ (400$) shipping. (People make meth with it)<\/p>\n
Heavy water:\u00a0 Platinum electrodes, Electrolysis, salt water, split into deuterium and oxygen.\u00a0 Regulator valve and filter to make deuterium gas.<\/p>\n
Helium 3 cheaper to mine on moon then to make on earth.<\/p>\n
Turns on Roughing pump, pumps chamber down in stages by opening different valves, turns on power supply to fuel system.\u00a0 Turns on diffusion pump to heat up oil.\u00a0 Neutrons slowed down by paraffin wax so detector can detect them.\u00a0 Has uranium to calibrate counters.\u00a0 To get Gamma vs Neutron peak.\u00a0 Geiger counter to count radioactivity and wants to beat it with reactor.\u00a0 Just under 8000 count after a min.\u00a0 Vacuum good enough to generate plasma.\u00a0 Increases voltage.\u00a0 Pressure drops voltage must increase.\u00a0 A few faint glows, as he is trying to get the reaction between 20 and 30 thousand volts.\u00a0 Still a plasma discharge and not fusion.\u00a0 Cosmic rays energetic wake up neutron detector.<\/p>\n
Bursts of plasma, one faint purplish plasma glow.\u00a0 Not required to have plasma in chamber to produce fusion.\u00a0 People say glow less mode more efficient then with plasma.\u00a0 More and more glows and neutrons as he tunes the device.\u00a0 Eventually he gets a stable flowing reaction.<\/p>\n
Star in a Jar.\u00a0 Going from water to a star.\u00a0 Next round of experiments may include computer tuning\/etc.<\/p>\n