Technical FAQ

Discuss the technical details of an "open source" community-driven design of a polywell reactor.

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MSimon
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Technical FAQ

Post by MSimon »

Technical FAQ

Read the above to get the basics. Come back here to discuss the details.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

D Tibbets
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Re: Technical FAQ

Post by D Tibbets »

MSimon wrote:Technical FAQ

Read the above to get the basics. Come back here to discuss the details.
Usefull information,whith alot of effort by individuals. I feel compelled though to pount out one entry that is confusing (to me).

http://www.ohiovr.com/polywell-faq/inde ... reactor%3F

This describes the electron gun power as 10 Megawatts. In WB6 at least, the electron guns were a ~ 12 volts, not 12,000 volts. I'm not certain what the current was as it was a dynamic runaway process with time. But during the time Beta = ~ 1 phase the electron gun current was ~ 40 amps (40 amps X 12 volts = 480 watts). The electrons were then accelerated by the 12,000 volt potential on the magrids. I'm not sure where the 5 amp current on the magrids comes from. I speculate that a 40 amp electron current being accelerated by a 12,000 volt potential that is supported by a meager 5 amp power supply would rersult in a significant voltage drop. In any case, 40 amps of electron current (at Beta=1) that is accelerated by a 12,000 volt potential would result in 480,000 watts electron input power. Only when the system was breaking down with glow discharge/ arching did the non regulated capacitor bank deliver the current in the hundreds of amps (while it was short circuiting).

I'm assuming that the this power (480,000 watts) plus the magnetic
power (~10,000 watts) is the baseline for WB6 (with ~ 1 milliwatt of fusion power output) that serves as the basis for scaling to other machines.

Dan Tibbets
To error is human... and I'm very human.

KitemanSA
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Post by KitemanSA »

I wasn't real sure what the basis of the numbers was either, but I wasn't going to argue with Dr Nebel who provided them. :)

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

12 volts at the electron gun. 12,000 volts by the time the electrons get near the grids. That is where the power goes.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

KitemanSA
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Post by KitemanSA »

I've been presuming the 10MW is the transient power needed to fill the core and create the well *12000V, ~800A, and that it wasn't a steady state need, but I don't really know.

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

I have seen theories that posit a declining current requirement for larger devices.

But really. The FAQ sticky is not the place to be discussing this.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

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