Kaaa ZAAAAP!, Pushing toward the future

[fltcoils]

I'd mentioned this as my favorite interest in my profile.
There has been some news recently I thought others might find encouraging.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136887.aspx
Richard Nebel was interviewed last week about the progress on the Bussard Fusion Generator WB-7 (Whiffle Ball 7).

In case you've not been following it, ... after fighting Sarnoff over Television patents, Philo Farnsworth began using electron guns to direct ions into a spherical chamber surrounded by a screen grid with 18000 volts on it. The grid was enough to confine the ions, and the result from an energetic enough ion beam was the fusion of D-D. Bob Hirsch finally got the concept going, and it is made commercially now.

Co founder of the USA fusion program, along with Bob Hirsch, Robert Bussard worked for 20 years on an improvement using an unconfined field of electrons, in a shell or whiffleball shape, instead of a wire grid. His results were very promising, suggesting a 1.5 meter cube device could supply 100MW using boron fusion, a non-radioactive reaction.
http://www.emc2fusion.org/
Since Robert Bussard's death, Richard Nebel of Los Almos has reconstructed the device, and in the interview has shared the positive flow or work so far.

So What? Well, it's basic research, but a step closer to the Mr. Fusion from "Back to the future". But not a pretend pie-in-the-sky lecture.
other sources of info
http://www.talk-polywell.org/bb/index.php
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136887.aspx

 

[jeffg]

Well, this research is being funded by the U.S. Navy, so we can be sure Mr. Fusion will wind up on nuclear subs, not on our kitchen countertops. If the conflict of interest with oil corporations didn't exist, we could have had fusion technology perfected decades ago.

 

[gansky1]

You've hit the nail on the head, Jeff, there is no reason that this country hasn't been the leader in alternative energy exploration for decades now. At the first sign of irreversible pollution, the priorities should have been changed despite the balking of Detroit, OPEC and their cronies.

I don't know much about this fusion research, Jon (jetcone) and I were discussing it though a couple of years ago and there was a U.K. company working on a version/concept that was very close...

Thanks for the link - I'll give it some reading time this weekend!

 

[fltcoils]

check out google and youtube

"Should google go Nuclear?", Dr. Bussards online lecture to Google audience in Oct 2006, reviewing his work.
just type that into google and watch.

When navy contract ended, DEc 2005, the gag order ended, and Dr. Bussard promptly went public with the results. His intention was to see that everything gets done, somewhere by somebody despite governments or oil companies. EMC2 is a non-profit company in NM doing the work.

also see polywell fusion or bussard fusion on youtube.

It's real, it's above board, there are real scientific discussions going on concerning it now.

 

[fltcoils]

FAQ IEC Polywell Fusion / Examples and history

http://www.polywellnuclearfusion.com
http://www.rexresearch.com/farnsworth/fusor.htm
http://www.talk-polywell.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=112
-------
US Patent # 3,258,402
"Electrical Discharge Device for Producing Interactions Between Nuclei" Philo Farnsworth

US Patent # 3,386,883
"Method & Apparatus for Producing Nuclear Fusion Reactions
Philo Farnsworth

US Patent # 5,160,695
Method & Apparatus for Creating & Controlling Nuclear Fusion Reactions Dr Robert Bussard

Adam parker's Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor during operation