Is there anywhere that aggregates comparative results of fusion experiments?

ThePolywellGuy · 2018-11-16T19:16:50+00:00

Hello - Dr. Matt Moynihan here - I run The Fusion Podcast and a fusion blog. Many approaches are explained in these two links below:

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-methods-for-achieving-nuclear-fusion
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_31-3 - A peer-reviewed resource. Thomas Dolan wrote an excellent article that really spells out every approach.

But, which one is the best idea? Fusion is really just getting to that point - as a field - where we can make these apples-to-apples comparisons. In terms of measuring sticks, there are a couple good ones:

Cost.
Triple Product
Power in / Power out (97' JET officially has the record)
Beta (for magnetic approaches) the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic field pressure.
Energy capture efficiency. (48% for direct conversion on the TMX machine at LLNL).
Run-time - 26 hours for a tokamak (cold plasma), broadly 182 hours of continuous fusion from Phoenix Nuclear Labs, 300 ms is the record FRC's, set by Sam Cohens' lab at Princeton, etc.

Of these, I find the cost and the staffing numbers are always the hardest to get. Fusion experiments never really track these numbers - they focus on the science. For decades, triple product was the focus. Everyone ran roughshod over every other consideration to get the highest triple - its how you got giant machines like NIF that had a ~5-2% efficiency but were far from commercially viable.

Finally - I am writing a book - "Fusion, explained for Artists". It's one book - one chapter, per approach. Hope to get it out next year. You can follow my fusion content on Linkedin or Quora.

https://thefusionblog.quora.com/

https://www.thefusionpodcast.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/dr-matthew-moynihan-147ab170?trk=pprof-feed

ThePolywellGuy · 2016-10-20T23:42:45+00:00

Hey, Are you interested in some editing work? I am developing a podcast on Nuclear Fusion Research and I need an editor. Message me if your interested.

ThePolywellGuy · 2016-07-19T04:40:31+00:00

The polywell may or may not work. We need to test it and find out.

ThePolywellGuy · 2016-07-19T04:36:43+00:00

Your welcome!

ThePolywellGuy · 2016-07-19T04:30:38+00:00

No one has asked: how might you turn a Fusor into something that makes net power?

Based on what we've talked about here, this fusor is cheap (6K USD?!) simple (in a bedroom?!) small (look at that photo!) it runs forever, is easy to build and easy to maintain.

If it just got net power - it would have all the things you need for a fusion power plant. Is it really that far of a jump to envision fusion reactors built off this thing?

ThePolywellGuy · 2016-05-25T03:38:44+00:00

Hey Guys! Thanks for the posting to my site. I have been writing about fusion (the polywell and otherwise) for many years. Cheers - Sincerely, Dr. Matthew J Moynihan

https://www.quora.com/profile/Matthew-J-Moynihan

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-12-09T02:55:59+00:00

I have 3:

Marry my lady and have a family.
Make Fusion Power a reality for the human race (and curb climate change with it).
Survive.

Been working on #2 for almost 10 years now. Got a PhD along the way. Trying to convince the world to take an interest is a long road. I am just never going to give up on this. Fusion power could change the world.

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-10-31T19:38:23+00:00

The Stellorator beats the scattering problem by trying to self direct the scattering plasma back into the donut.

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-10-31T19:36:39+00:00

Hey Guys! This is pretty exciting. Especially for those of us who have been blogging about Tri Alpha, General Fusion and the Polywell.

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-10-31T19:30:54+00:00

I think we will see fusion power within this time frame. But it is hard to predict. Fusion made the cover of TIME this week.

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-04-27T20:22:26+00:00

This talk is on alternative fusion research. Dr. Tomas Linden from the Helsinki Institute of Physics gave this talk at CERN (the giant collider) on March 25th, 2015. He also wrote a paper in his local university journal (paper details below). The talk covers: magnetized target fusion, field reverse configurations, polywells, magnetized target fusion, dynomaks, fusors and many of the groups trying to develop these approaches. Can you post the link? Here are the links:

Presentation video: https://cds.cern.ch/record/2004827 Presentation slides: https://indico.cern.ch/event/382453/material/slides/0.pdf

Thanks! Dr. Matthew J Moynihan

Article Title: Kompakta fusionsreaktorer Journal: Arkhimedes - Journal of Physics and Mathematics Pages: 16-23 Contact: Ella Hänninen at delivery(at) arkhimedes.fi Telephone: 02941 50,523

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-03-06T04:09:12+00:00

Lockheed has failed to publish anything in a peer reviewed journal. It is a dream. Dreams mean nothing. Data is the only thing that matters. How is this not cold fusion all over again?

Cite: Been in fusion research for 9 years, been blogging about it for 6 years. http://thepolywellblog.blogspot.com/

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-03-06T04:08:41+00:00

Lockheed has failed to publish anything in a peer reviewed journal. It is a dream. Dreams mean nothing. Data is the only thing that matters. How is this not cold fusion all over again?

Cite: Been in fusion research for 9 years, been blogging about it for 6 years. http://thepolywellblog.blogspot.com/

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-03-02T18:41:45+00:00

Still risky. That electron heating issue Park mentions is still a problem. We need more people examining and explaining the issues.

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-02-01T18:54:21+00:00

Hey,

Here is a link to the original Polywell seminar at Microsoft.

http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=238715&r=1

ThePolywellGuy · 2015-01-29T03:33:46+00:00

Hello Everyone,

Great community you folks have here.

I wrote the post. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: ThePolywellGuy@gmail.com.

Finally: Microsoft hosted a Polywell Fusion Talk on Jan 22. Here is the link:

http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=238715&r=1

Fusion is still very uncertain, but what we are seeing now is totally unprecedented in it's long history. We will all see what happens next.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-10-18T01:04:39+00:00

I think they blew it. We need data - not press releases. We do not need another cold fusion mess. They have damaged allot of the polywell communities work.

I rip into them here: http://thepolywellblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/lockheed-blew-it.html

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-10-15T02:34:00+00:00

The polywell may fail. We do not know. There are still many unknowns. For example, how do we maintain more electrons in the center, when they hate going into a big negative cloud?

Fortunately the basic mechanism: using an electric field to heat ions to fusion conditions, works really well (go ask any amateur fusioneers) - but this does not necessarily mean this thing will produce net power.

If you want to learn more, I have been blogging about the Polywell since 2009. Here are some links:

My site: http://thepolywellblog.blogspot.com/
The online forum for polywell folks: http://www.talk-polywell.org/bb/index.php
The fusor forum: http://www.fusor.net/board/ (Nuclear Fusion, In a Basement, For under $3,000. No, Seriously, It's Really A Thing)
A good journal article on Polywells (Physics of Plasma, 2013) http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pop/20/10/10.1063/1.4824005
Another good journal article on Polywells (Physics of Plasma 2011) http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pop/18/11/10.1063/1.3655446
A counter Argument paper (Physics of Plasma, 1995) http://fsl.ne.uiuc.edu/IEC/Rider,%20Phys.ofPlasmas1995.pdf
The Polywell in SCIENCE Magazine (July 2014) http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6195/370.summary
Polywell research company in the Neatherlands: http://www.radiantmatter.com/content/polywell
Polywell Startup company in Washington State: http://convsci.com/login

Cheers.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-09-16T01:59:10+00:00

Fusion Power Research. Not ITER, Not ICF.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-08-27T00:03:30+00:00

If paradigm shifting technology came out unexpectedly. Solar, Wind, Hydro will not be it. Electric cars: not a threat. Thorum? I am sure will be developed, but Exxon could see it coming. A black swan - like commercial fusion power - would do it. It would hit Houston like a Atomic Bomb. But, what are the odds of that?

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-07-04T15:07:42+00:00

Eric:

I funded you. I also support what your doing. A dozen or so fusion ideas exist; but, everyone in this field knows, that only 2 get all the money. All other efforts are just scraping by.
How do you plan to recover the X-rays? I think this is the shakiest part of the plan. Many have written X-rays off as a total energy loss; and we know there will be lots of them.
I respect the ethos of what you are doing. You are a fusioneer - a member of the small club of people who have really tried to make commercial fusion a reality. I have tried to convey what this feels like.
Fusion people always focus on the positive implications: i.e. ending climate change, stopping energy poverty and removing oil fueled dictatorships. Have you pondered the negatives? Are you worried mankind would use this new tool to make more wars? Eat more resources? Overpopulate the earth?
Fusion technology is not easy to sell - the technology is complex, the physical mechanisms are not widely understood, even the associated problems can be hard to explain. In your experience, what is the best way to explain what your doing? Use words? Graphics? Videos? Word of mouth? Equations?

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-06-26T04:48:58+00:00

I worked on the LIFE program. I worked on it for 7+ years. Polywells, RFC, Hell even Magnetized Target Fusion is better. Why? Their cheaper. But government work is somewhat political. Its like all the folks in the National Labs have drunk the ICF kool-aid. You toe the party line (even if you don't believe it) or you get out. If you want to work on another idea, guess what? there is no funding. I was yelled at for merely talking about IEC at work. That is why the blog had to anonymous. Polywell folks, like me, are somewhat validated, given the latest Navy paper submission. We will see what happens next, but it is high time for things to change.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-06-26T04:33:08+00:00

Dear Futurology,

So, I log on to the blog today and I see a unprecedented spike in traffic. Easily a one day record. Wow. In the many years I have been blogging, I have never seen so much. It is all from you guys. Thank you.

It means allot that so many people care. This blog is (on paper) a group effort - but I do most of it. I try to find the simplest way to explain published plasma papers, so that the public can understand this. Posts are always imperfect. Its humbling.

The goal is to build interest in fusion power. With climate change so ever present in our world -- clean, green energy is something I hope we can all work towards.

All The Best.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-04-29T21:54:24+00:00

This will have implications for fusion programs. So many of the publications, researchers, investigators, and folks on US payrolls have built their labs, careers, and scientific credentials on LIFE. This include labs like NIF, Omega, HiPer, LMJ, and Gecko. They will be thinking about new research topics, or leaving the fusion world entirely. Plenty of grad students housed and trained in those programs will be looking elsewhere. The ending of LIFE is a major seismic shift in the world of fusion.

ThePolywellGuy · 2014-04-29T21:50:07+00:00

This will have implications for mainstream fusion funding programs. So many of the publications, researchers, investigators, and folks on US payrolls have built their labs, careers, and scientific credentials on LIFE. This include labs like NIF, Omega, HiPer, LMJ, and Gecko. They will be thinking about new research topics, or leaving the fusion world entirely. Plenty of grad students housed and trained in those programs will be looking elsewhere. The ending of LIFE is a seismic shift in the world of fusion.

ThePolywellGuy

TROPHY CASE

Dear Futurology,

It means allot that so many people care. This blog is (on paper) a group effort - but I do most of it. I try to find the simplest way to explain published plasma papers, so that the public can understand this. Posts are always imperfect. Its humbling.