Low-Cost Fusion Project Steps Out of the Shadows

[marvin57]

Low-Cost Fusion Project Steps Out of the Shadows and Looks for Money

"This finding ... is just one step along the way," said M. Simon, a frequent contributor to the Talk-Polywell online discussion forum. "It makes the case that further experiments are warranted. In other words, no showstoppers."

Nicholas Krall, a plasma physicist who has been working in the fusion field for more than a half-century and has been an adviser to EMC2 Fusion, was more enthusiastic. "I think this is the most exciting experimental advance that I've been involved in," he told NBC News. 'I'm stoked."

[mvanwink5]

Thanks marvin57,
Good to see some more (rare and rarified) news on EMC2, and it includes the $30 million project price tag, but no indication of project scope. The idea that big e-guns for WB-8 were not funded by the Navy project years ago boggles my mind. Ok, at the outset Nebel and EMC2 didn't realize how big the e-guns needed to be, but what was the project adder, $1 million, $2 million? C'mon Navy... And the resulting cost (delay time is the truly big money) was at least a couple of project years, and Park barely pulled out a sub-project milestone, cusp confinement. Park deserves a huge commendation for that critical and insightful breakthrough. But, now I'm left trying to figure out what WB-7 and 7.1 really showed, anything? Yeah, old rants, move on. So, back to waiting for real news, if, then when will EMC2 gets some big honking WB-8 e-guns...then wait some more to see if the test results will be disclosed...

Now I know why Rip VanWinkle went to sleep for 20 years, except in fusion progress he would wake up and decide to return back to sleep.

[Tom Ligon]

Well, heck. Talked with Jay yesterday, was reminded I'm still under the NDA, was wondering what, if anything I can say.

There it is. Somebody got $30M lying around, willing to risk it? I'm a couple of decimal places short, myself, or this would be underway.

Krall stoked is a good sign. I'm thinking back to a day when he was having his doubts, arguing with Bussard that it wouldn't work. RWB said to me, "Tom, I think we have one two many PhD physicists around here, but I'm not sure which one it is."

Just in case you guys don't appreciated the importance of achieving the wiffleball, I'm pretty sure the paper preprint EMC2 produced earlier this year was linked here. The basic predicted effect predates Polywell machines, and the seminal paper is in the EMC2 paper references. Attempting to create the proposed effect has been going on for decades. That EMC2 finally did it should be considered a breakthru.

8. J. Berkwoitz, K. O. Friedrichs, H. Goertzel, H. Grad, J. Killeen, E. Rubin, Cusped Geometries. Proceeding of Second U.N. International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva 31, 171 (1958).

http://www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/physics/ ... _Vol31.pdf

The paper above includes references to a couple of other papers by the same authors in the same conference, probably also worthwhile, plus several private communications. I'd love to see the one with Tuck (as a Polywell is essentially an Elmore Tuck Watson machine with a magrid instead of a plain grid). Tuck apparently contributed the Picket Fence geometry ... perhaps suggesting he was thinking in magrid terms.

[mvanwink5]

Somebody got $30M lying around, willing to risk it?

I know I have missed somthin' here. WB-8 is laying up in a hanger bay and needs big e-guns to fire it up and replicate mini-B for WB-8, then get a potential well (and did I miss why a potential well wasn't shown for mini-B?), and that should get the risk cut down to size... Or is there an implication here that this is proven territory? If so, I missed it. Somehow somewhere I am missing the $xxx <<$30M that reduces the risk before the $30M is committed. Staged risk is the normal approach. Perhaps someone not buried deep in an NDA can shed some light, perhaps, or is LENR 'scam or not' too much fun drama?

[Betruger]

That missing link would completely fly in the face of Doc Park's track record.

[Tom Ligon]

I am not at liberty to discuss the potential well, or lack thereof, in any given machine.

But it is an interesting observation. File it for the future.

[AcesHigh]

There it is. Somebody got $30M lying around, willing to risk it? I'm a couple of decimal places short, myself, or this would be underway.

don´t worry, I have the feeling I will win the brazilian special turn of the year lottery... last year, prize was R$200 million, about U$100 million.

If I win it (chances are big, 1 in 56 million), I will invest the $30 million you guys need.

[ladajo]

This could go many ways. The project that is. It really depends on the level and reliability of funding lined up.

There is some merit with using WB8 as the basis machine for the next round. But there is also merit to just build a new rig. WB9 if you will.

The best thing anyone around here can do is tell all your friends about EMC2 and the polywell approach, and that they are looking for an investor.
Also, some pressure on congress about why the government is dropping the ball, again, is useful as well.

Tom has it right, the proving out of Wiffleball really is a big deal, and it is not getting the rounds yet that it should. Jaeyoung did a big thing. This concept is going to get some mileage, and I for one, would like to see it done here in the U.S., not some other country. I am sick to death of seeing american innovation pirated and exploited.

[palladin9479]

Really curious why the Navy isn't pushing forward, I know money is tight but this is small change compared to how much they spend on dumb things. It smells too much of a political issue where one entity doesn't want it funded on principle.

[mvanwink5]

I have voiced, more than once, EMC2 needs to put some Business, VC savvy expertise on board. And the Website... good grief, you want anyone to take EMC2 serious, it is +six months overdue. Oh, well. Run this like LPP and it will go nowhere. Go the GF route, in fact, talk to the same investors, more than one fusion approach would be smart especially since EMC2 capital cost for proof of concept is cheap with WB-8 sitting there. But what do I know about such things.

Get some money (VC) expertise on board
Website
Time has been wasted from my uninformed point of view if money has not already been lined up.

[swamijake]

Agreed. Anyone have Dr. Park's contact info?

[ladajo]

What do you want to say?

[swamijake]

I do power development in the Utility space and have history in tech development. Happy to make introductions or provide any help I can.

Jake

[kunkmiester]

from what I recall of machine geometry and size issues, WB-8 should be large enough, if you can run it in a pulsed mode, you should be able to get P-B11 fusion during those pulses. I would see that as logical for the next part--put big enough guns on it you get your electrons where you want them, then inject ions and see if they behave.

[mvanwink5]

Does Park have an explanation as to why the Navy would put $12M into WB-8, get the mini-B results, then not go for the big e-guns needed for WB-8? If I was a VC or interested $ party that would be my first question.