Talk-Polywell.org

Hello MSimon,
Sorry but I didn't understand your last post. What is an "FFs"? And what is "battle damage to engineering spaces"?
Regards,
Tony Barry (who spent just two years in the Army cadets about thirty five years ago and doesn't remember much ...)
[edited grammar]

Thanks to all correspondents on this thread. I am learning a lot. Still many things that are cloudy ... but it's great to be learning this stuff.

I got the news from my brother, who cited the powerAndControl blog. I am actually getting my hopes up this time ... (we'll see).
PS Thanks to MSimon, Tom Ligon, Joe Strout and others who have promoted the polywell.

Hello MSimon, From your post I infer that you are in the process of constructing the next of Dr. Bussard's prototype polywells. May I ask is this your own private effort, or is it part of a larger group? If a larger group, is this academia based (i.e. through a university) or as part of defence or g...

Hello Gabriel, and welcome to the forum.

Tony Barry

Hello nanos, I work in a large public hospital in Sydney, Australia. We routinely use fluoroscopy and isotopes for medical purposes. If there were to be any little leaks as you describe:- If we just, rather than say 'oh we never make mistakes', say 'oh yeah, something broke last week and leaked a li...

I echo drmike's thanks!

Regards,
Tony Barry

Like drmike, I think the maths will go a long way to settling the argument; and a working model will go even further :-) , but in the interim, I find Dietz's comments unconvincing. Note that I am an interested amateur here, and so what I write is worth very little in the fusion scientific community....

I for one would prefer to avoid fission ... it has a bad name among some section of the populace, and certainly has a difficult act to perform with cleanup.

However, when we are facing the imminent demise of regular fuels, it may be that fission is better than freezing.

Regards,
TB

I had a look in. Good effort Zix. KUTGW. I agree about the cranks ... oftentimes in science, the cranks cause more trouble than you'd realise. I recall a recent paper about the beneficial effects of echinacaea ... the cranks have had a field day with ech, garlic, etc, and when a real study gets unde...

Hello drmike and MSimon,
Thanks for the references. I am working my way through them.
Regards,
Tony Barry

If all you are doing is TIGging thick stuff, then a cheapie is AOK. If you are doing thin stuff, then the more expensive boxes will run lower amps, have other cool stuff like high frequency start, programmable current up-down during the weld, an end-of-weld current droop to minimise crater forming, ...

A cheap TIG in Australia can be gotten for under five hundred Aussie dollars (less USD). Stainless welding is really quite civilised when compared to stick or MIG - much less spatter, the arc is quite nice ... but you do have to keep the joints close or use filler rod, because TIG on its own will no...

Thank you Schneibster for your post. My main training is also in EE, but more from control than power. Hence I am eager to learn but sadly aware of numerous holes in my knowledge base. My initial question (that began this thread) regarding electron imbalance has been answered, and that is good. I th...

Hello drmike, Thank you for the post. If I understand you correctly, the boron ions need to be taken down to a net charge of 5+ before being dropped into the polywell. That gives five electrons from boron, plus one from the ionisation of the proton, equals six electrons (6-). We have six electrons t...