Talk-Polywell.org

mvanwink5 wrote:Few politicians have any science background, and zero have any ability to grasp plasma science. Even the so called science journalists have no grasp and look for safe reporting opinions from institutional physicists who have safe careers in the bureaucracy of massive projects like ITER that offer full 40 year careers in one gig.

The politicians only want to look like they are supporting the latest boutique trends in science that are PC. Even the Dark Horse fusion companies genuflect to ITER in fear of vicious attacks behind doors, and hope at best to gather some escaped crumbs off the floor.

The reality is that no one with an oak desk or wears white bed sheets wants near term fusion. $Trillions at stake. That is what my tinfoil hatted protected brain imagines.

Well, ARPA-E did a pretty good job and funding alternative fusion concepts, even though not with huge sums, but at least with something to allow them to go forward. This is why it is really stupid to cancel the program.

Looks like Helion Energy will be presenting their latest works at the Clean Tech Innovation Showcase in Seattle on June 26th. Not sure whether it is important but the Tweet makes it seem like Helion may be one of the more important presenters there.
https://twitter.com/wacleantech/status/ ... 9684804609

Well, ARPA-E did a pretty good job and funding alternative fusion concepts,

And Polywell got zip. Crony hand outs.

mvanwink5 wrote:

Well, ARPA-E did a pretty good job and funding alternative fusion concepts,

And Polywell got zip. Crony hand outs.

Crony handouts?! Do I have to remind you that Polywell got significantly more government money through the Navy over the years? And when some of the others are getting a few small crumbs as well, it is "crony handouts"?!
The SLS, Orion and the F35, those are crony handouts. Those peanuts going to alternative fusion concepts are definitely not. Plus, last time I checked, Helion had been a lot further along than Polywell was. But I would never call what Polywell got "crony handouts". It is amazing how the big cronies play the small good people against each other.

Explain how the selections were made then. Also, Helion has had its sources of cash before now. Polywell's biggest problem has been the inability to publish, as you well know.

Nevertheless, this is all fighting over scraps and crumbs from the big crony table.

mvanwink5 wrote:Explain how the selections were made then. Also, Helion has had its sources of cash before now. Polywell's biggest problem has been the inability to publish, as you well know.

Nevertheless, this is all fighting over scraps and crumbs from the big crony table.

They applied, they got selected. Helion did not have much funding until ARPA-E. After that, some private investors jumped on too, but not until then.
Polywell got SIGNIFICANTLY more from the US Navy. And again, it is silly to fight over this. No matter what fusion device, they all need more funding. ARPA- E was a way to get some funding to at least some of them. With out them, the situation would be even more bleak.

There's no cosmic law that all fusion projects will have required identical sum totals of funding, come break even.

Is Polywell not unfunded for the time being?

Small Tweet with picture of Venti by David Kirtley:

Speaking on Venti fusion updates at the @ARPAE ALPHA program's annual review! @Helion_Energy #fusionenergy

Helion Energy will present this contribution at the 59th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics conference:

Abstract: TO7.00012 : Cost Modeling and Design of Field-Reversed Configuration Fusion Power Plants

http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DPP17/Session/TO7.12

ARPA-E Alpha 2017 annual review meeting presentation:
https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default ... IRTLEY.pdf

2014 stuff repackaged. Stay optimistic.

mvanwink5 wrote:2014 stuff repackaged. Stay optimistic.

I think you missed the part where they did some 2000 shots with their Venti test device since last year. They have achieved a plasma density of 10^21 and their simulation code seems to be getting better and better too. Also it seems like they have increased their goal compression for Venti to 20 Tesla from the previous 12 Tesla. 20 Tesla was originally not planned until the next device. So they are making good progress.

Yes, thank you for pointing that out.

Software seems to have come of age for plasma research. All the upstarts are going there. Yes, that is one of their smaller machines, easier to go to 20T in a smaller machine so they can squeeze more insight and more importantly validate their code. An encouraging batch of presentations. I wonder what will be presented in October?

mvanwink5 wrote:Yes, thank you for pointing that out.

Software seems to have come of age for plasma research. All the upstarts are going there. Yes, that is one of their smaller machines, easier to go to 20T in a smaller machine so they can squeeze more insight and more importantly validate their code. An encouraging batch of presentations. I wonder what will be presented in October?

I presume you are referring to the APS meeting on the 26th? There they will be showing something different from their "fusion engine" reactor design. The design presented there seems to borrow design elements from their patented Fusion Driven Rocket engine, combining it with their "fusion engine" design of merging plasmoids. From the looks of it, they are looking into using a magnetically driven foil liner to further compress the FRCs as they are merging. They expect to get 100 Tesla fields out of that. IMHO, this could be interesting for power plants that have to live in a more limited space compared to their main power plant design line (which could be as much as 24 meters in length and 2 meters in diameter). Their main design is limited to 50 Tesla magnetic fields because of material limitations. Foil liner compression would not face such a limit, at least from what I understand.

Helion is looking for a Fusion Test Engineer.
https://jobs.lever.co/helionenergy/64b3 ... 56b8865d6f