Help LPP complete their experimental phase and get net energy from Nuclear Fusion

[GullyFoyle]

Now is the time. You can help save the world.
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics' crowd funding effort on Indiegogo, is underway! The funding will be used to Purchase Beryllium electrodes, which will permit them to complete their proof of concept phase, producing more energy output than is required as input to initiate a Nuclear Fusion process.

This video is a good introduction to their history and what they plan to do.

The new tungsten electrodes we are installing in July will be great for cutting way down on impurities that have prevented high density. But tungsten absorbs too many x-rays, so when we get near to net energy, the x-rays will cause the electrodes to crack. So for the final push we need beryllium electrodes. Beryllium is the lightest metal, and the x-rays will harmlessly pass through the electrodes.

That’s why we need your help. With the electrodes, we can go all the way to showing that a commercial Focus Fusion generator is feasible and ready for a 3-4-year development program. Let’s emPOWERtheWORLD together!

The Indiegogo page

Background on Lawrencewville Plasma Physics

Want to assist in other ways? The Focus Fusion Society is their home-grown support group.

 

[videogames101]

my skepticism is overwhelming...

good for them if they get results though

 

[William Gaatjes]

What is Aneutronic fusion :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusion

Aneutronic fusion is any form of fusion power where neutrons carry no more than 1% of the total released energy.[1] The most-studied fusion reactions release up to 80% of their energy in neutrons. Successful aneutronic fusion would greatly reduce problems associated with neutron radiation such as ionizing damage, neutron activation, and requirements for biological shielding, remote handling, and safety.

Some proponents also see a potential for dramatic cost reductions by converting energy directly to electricity. However, the conditions required to harness aneutronic fusion are much more extreme than those required for the conventional deuterium–tritium (DT) fuel cycle.

I think they want to use this :

1p + 11B → 3 4He + 8.7 MeV

 

[William Gaatjes]

Looking at the video, the device is a pinch fusion device. similar as this :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch

 

[William Gaatjes]

Where i have a problem , is that they use copper tubes. Would that not melt immediately ?

 

[Agent11]

All this money should be spent on LFTR reactors in my opinion. Meh.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I was wondering, if the plasma is obviously inherent unstable because of all these charged particles moving around repelling each other, why not make use of that instability with a rapidly changing magnetic field.

You have this probability that these particles will collide in such a way that fusion takes place. But this only happens once in so may times. I learned this form the polywell video from Robert Bussard.
Because of all these equal (in sign) charges, the particles repel each other. What i learned is that fusion reactors like ITER create a field that makes the plasma follow the magnetic fields lines in a spiral movement. But the more energy the plasma gets, the more unstable it gets. Increasing the change that the plasma will come free from the magnetic field line.


Why not make use of an idea similar as the polywell meaning keeping the plasma at a position in the middle of a spherical shaped reactor.
Why do they not make use of the instability of plasma by creating 3 rapid in polarity varying magnetic fields in x y z direction to push the plasma around, Forth and back, left and right, up and down. The plasma will then be violently pushed around a sort of "null" position. My gut feeling says that the probability of fusion will increase.

 

[GullyFoyle]

Where i have a problem , is that they use copper tubes. Would that not melt immediately ?

I'm no Physicist, but Empirical evidence says no.

Plus. that is the part they are trying to raise money for, replace copper with Beryllium

Because of its low density and atomic mass, beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays and other forms of ionizing radiation; therefore, it is the most common window material for X-ray equipment and components of particle physics experiments.

The high thermal conductivities of beryllium and beryllium oxide have led to their use in thermal management application

 

[GullyFoyle]

All this money should be spent on LFTR reactors in my opinion. Meh.

Focus Fusion is just one step beyond the Thorium fuel cycles, in eliminating radiation issues, and still lower costs, by Eliminating the Edison heat/electric generator from the hardware equation. Although LPP will face the challenge of eliminating overheat at the heart of their device when thy try to scale up the pulse rate, in the next phase after they achieve break-even or net energy from a single pulse.

It's nice to see that we have multiple options to address our energy crisis, isn't it? Someone should tell the environmentalists, so they don't get all depressed, and off themselves.

We probably should move forward on both fronts, in case we run into a "gotcha" on either approach as soon as possible.
It would be good to have at least one thorium reactor to cook down existing uranium and plutonium waste.