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Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:34 pm
by Frank Sanns
Mike,

If you wrote this as a parody you were successful. ha ha. If you wrote with any seriousness, you need to find another profession. I looked at it quickly and can only say that essentially every single claim that you have put down is false. It would take me half an hour just to explain what is wrong in the any one section. Just trying to provide some accurate feedback from a scientific perspective.

Frank Sanns

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:46 am
by Scientist M.A.D.
Frank, sorry this rebuttal is so long. I felt it necessary to completely answered all of your objections, and, in conclusion, with all of your arguments refuted, you must agree with me. : - )

Thanks, I appreciate your support.


Frank S. wrote:
> Mike,
>
> If you wrote this as a parody you were successful. ha ha. If you wrote with any seriousness, you need to find another profession. I looked at it quickly and can only say that essentially every single claim that you have put down is false. It would take me half an hour just to explain what is wrong in the any one section. Just trying to provide some accurate feedback from a scientific perspective.
>
> Frank Sanns

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:16 am
by Chris Bradley
If you want to get smart with the wordplay, then you would be better off spending your time contemplating what responses you will give to the examiner. Smart-alec answers won't wash with the USPTO. You need to know how you will address the matters I've mentioned above;

i) the claims are unspecific and replete with terms that do not specify, with required clarity, the claimed subject matter, ii) the invention is not enabled, iii) undue experimentation will be required, iv) there is no credible assertion that the invention will perform the claimed utility.

plus I am sure you will get examiners comments that match what I posted for you to consider, wrt the prior art.

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:47 am
by Frank Sanns
Mike A Deeth wrote:
> Frank, sorry this rebuttal is so long. I felt it necessary to completely answered all of your objections, and, in conclusion, with all of your arguments refuted, you must agree with me. : - )
>
> Thanks, I appreciate your support.
>
>
> Frank S. wrote:
> > Mike,
> >
> > If you wrote this as a parody you were successful. ha ha. If you wrote with any seriousness, you need to find another profession. I looked at it quickly and can only say that essentially every single claim that you have put down is false. It would take me half an hour just to explain what is wrong in the any one section. Just trying to provide some accurate feedback from a scientific perspective.
> >
> > Frank Sanns


I will elaborate briefly on just one section of your proposal with my comments in CAPS:

a.) positioning the fuel at the focus of a spherical laser cavity so that--WILL IT LEVITATE SINCE ALL MATERIALS WILL VAPORIZE AT THESE TEMPERATURES.
i.) the fuel will not be able to effectively cool by radiating away light--WILL IT NOT RADIATE PROPORTIONAL TO T^4?
ii.) the reactors structural components are well shielded from the explosion,
making larger yields and higher gains possible--WHAT IS THE SHIELD MATERIAL THAT CAN DO THIS AND HOW IS IT SUPPORTED? HOW DOES YOUR "PUMP" ENERGY GET IN IF THERE IS A SHIELD THERE?
b.) making the cavity laser-active, by pumping it with enough light to cause
an upper-state population inversion--WHAT IS THE LASING MEDIUM AND WHAT IS THE EXCITATION MECHANISM?
c.) squeezing the fuel, so that
i.) the fuel becomes hot and radiates brightly (sonoluminescence) ARE YOU GOING TO DETONATE AN ATOMIC BOMB TO ACHIEVE THIS COMPRESSION? AND THIS IS NOT SONOLUMINESCENCE.
ii.) the fuel’s radiation creates an outgoing laser cascade HOW DO NEUTRONS STIMULATE ELECTRONS FOR LASING ACTION?
iii.) the fuel is in a state of pre-compression when the cascade returns--WHAT IS PRE-COMPRESSION, IS THAT LIKE UNCOMPRESSED?
iv.) the fuel is further heated and compressed by the powerful laser effect EVEN IF THE OUTGOING ENERGY WERE LASER PUMP ENERGY, WHICH IT IS NOT, IT STILL WOULD NOT MEET THE CONDITIONS FOR LASING


I will spare you and the group with any further elaboration but I hope you are getting the point.

Frank Sanns

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:00 am
by jcs78227
Thought I'd comment on your "I claim" post.

I see you filed a patent: http://ip.com/pdf/patapp/US20120014491.pdf

http://ip.com/patapp/US20120014491

Mike A Deeth wrote:
> CLAIMS</center></h2>
>
> I claim:
>
> 1. A device for generating fusion energy comprising:
> a.) spherical inner chamber
> I. with a reflective interior surface, for the purpose of preventing
> heat loss and lowering the temperature in which ignition occurs
[Preventing (reducing) heat loss will result in temperatures higher than what you would have previously been able to achieve. Regardless, how would this lower the temperature at which ignition would occur? Some other factor would have to be modified. Retaining more thermal energy just means you can get to the ignition temperature faster.]
> II. with provisions for pumping electromagnetic radiation inside
> the chamber, so that the fluid inside can be used as a laser gain
> medium and also for the purpose of optically tracking the fuel
["...provisions for pumping electromagnetic radiation..." ??? EMR of what nature?
UV, VL, IR, RF? What's the channeling method?
> b.) spherical outer chamber
> I. surrounding the inner chamber
[An outer chamber would tend to surround the aforementioned inner chamber]
> II. with provisions for acoustic & electric transduction, enabling
> pre-ignition movement and compression of the fuel and also
> enabling post-ignition harvesting of the blast’s kinetic energy
[There's a lot being glossed over in the word "provisions"...essentially you have a grand idea, as many here have (and a few have even taken from words to design to prototype), but you haven't done more than make a claim as your opening act. The question is, why do you need our help? You already filed a patent back in 2010 (attached). Focusing on just one part of this grand statement could provide years of work for the educated, experienced, and well-funded lone researcher--I can't imagine what your handicap is going to be having dropped out of HS, having no higher education, little, if any experience, and unknown funding.]
> c.) space between the two chambers
> I. filled with a fluid
> i. that is an acoustical medium
> ii. that cools the inner chamber
[The space will be filled with a fluid (to be determined), that is an acoustical medium (Hint: sound will propagate through essentially any medium, though the quality and suitability for your application will vary.) It is redundant to state that the fluid will be an acoustical medium, only that you will be exploiting the acoustical properties of the "fluid." While writing about exploiting the fluid, you are also needing a fluid that will work as a coolant of the inner chamber. This might just be the easiest challenge, should you have access to the facilities to test a myriad of substances for suitability.]
> d.) space inside the inner chamber
> I. filled with a fluid that
> i. circulates as an efficient high-temperature coolant
> ii. encapsulates gaseous fusible fuel inside of a bubble
> iii. is transparent to selected electromagnetic frequencies
> iv. is a laser gain medium that can amplify selected frequencies,
> so that the inner chamber can function as a spherical laser cavity
> v. is an acoustical medium, enabling fuel transport and compression
> vi. blocks x-rays, preventing damage to the chamber walls
> vii. absorbs neutrons, preventing the escape of hazardous radiation
> viii. breeds tritium, replenishing the supply of easily ignitable fuel
> ix. slows fuel dispersion during combustion, increasing burn-up fraction
[Well, that's not very many requirments...anybody at the fusor forum have a suggestion on this one?]
> 2. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method
> accurately determines the location of a bubble using the technique of
> multi-occultation triangulation.
[What's the first step to multi-occultation triangulation?]
> 3. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method is used
> to move a bubble by manipulating the pressure in its local environment, based on
> the ideas that
> a.) a bubble’s size is determined by the background pressure
> b.) a bubble’s direction of motion coincides with the buoyant force and is determined
> by the pressure gradient
> c.) the interplay between the buoyancy force and drag force causes large bubbles to
> move faster than small bubbles when subjected to the same pressure gradient
> d.) fluctuations in the background pressure can be synchronized with fluctuations
> in the pressure gradient, so that, even though the bubble is pulsating backwards
> and forwards in tiny steps, large overall displacements can be accumulated.
[Sounds like classic bubble behavior]
> 4. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method causes
> thermonuclear ignition in a bubble of fuel, comprising
> a.) positioning the fuel at the focus of a spherical laser cavity so that
> i.) the fuel will not be able to effectively cool by radiating away light
> ii.) the reactors structural components are well shielded from the explosion,
> making larger yields and higher gains possible
[It's a good thing fusion is "clean" because the reactor having to suffer the occasional explosion would eventually cause a problem. What did I read about tritium? The reactor is where these explosions are taking place; shielding or not, it better be some incredible structural support.]
> b.) making the cavity laser-active, by pumping it with enough light to cause
> an upper-state population inversion
[You still think this is a wild idea?]
> c.) squeezing the fuel, so that
> i.) the fuel becomes hot and radiates brightly (sonoluminescence)
[Several places you refer to sonoluminescence with this definition...sono = of or having to do with sound energy; rarely acoustics. luminescence = emission of light by some mechanism. Thus sonoluminescence would have me thinking it has something to do with light being generated by the influence of sound energy on a process. Indeed, Wikipedia has a simple definition that is close enough.]
> ii.) the fuel’s radiation creates an outgoing laser cascade
> iii.) the fuel is in a state of pre-compression when the cascade returns
> iv.) the fuel is further heated and compressed by the powerful laser effect
> d.) containing (preventing dispersion of) the fuel, so that
> i.) the fuel can self-heat, lowering the energy required for drivers
> ii.) a greater fraction of the fuel gets burnt, increasing the gain
> iii.) low-temperature volume ignition is possible
[It all seems so simple to you. Where is the mathematics? Where is the rationale or reasoning that you can say after an initial start up this will be over-unity. Sorry if I'm the pessimist. My fusor produces neutrons, it was a project and a good one at that, but I think I am echoing others here when I say you are in the wrong place. Aside from theoretical questions on the forum, this is way beyond what an amateur fusioneer is going to be achieving, (correct me if I'm wrong) at the amateur level at home or in our labs at work...]

Take the hint...

Regards,
-Jonathan

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:53 am
by Scientist M.A.D.
Mike A Deeth wrote:

> CLAIMS</center></h2>

>

> I claim:

>

> 1. A device for generating fusion energy comprising:

> a.) spherical inner chamber

> I. with a reflective interior surface, for the purpose of preventing

> heat loss and lowering the temperature in which ignition occurs

[Preventing (reducing) heat loss will result in temperatures higher than what you would have previously been able to achieve. Regardless, how would this lower the temperature at which ignition would occur? Some other factor would have to be modified. Retaining more thermal energy just means you can get to the ignition temperature faster.]


Ignition is a term that applies in situations where the energy gain (from fusion) exceeds the energy losses (from all cooling channels). In situations where an increase in fuel temperature causes the fusion rate to increase faster than the cooling rate, positive feedback will lead to higher and higher fuel temperatures, resulting in a runaway reaction. The ideal ignition temperature is defined as the lowest temperature at which ignition can occur. If the rate of cooling can be decreased (for example, by reflecting EMR back into the fuel), then the temperature at which self-heating exceeds cooling (aka the ideal ignition temperature) will be lower, because fewer fusion reactions would be required to maintain the fuel at a given temperature.

> II. with provisions for pumping electromagnetic radiation inside

> the chamber, so that the fluid inside can be used as a laser gain

> medium and also for the purpose of optically tracking the fuel

["...provisions for pumping electromagnetic radiation..." ??? EMR of what nature?

UV, VL, IR, RF? What's the channeling method?


I think 872 nm laser diodes could pump the Nd:glass (~1055 nm) coolant. Fiber-optic cables could be used for delivery into the sphere. The quantum defect is 83%. The projected cost is less than 1 cent per Watt of peak diode power. The electrical-to-optical efficiency is over 70%, which is an order of magnitude better than NIF‘s flash lamps, and by selecting a glass with sufficiently high Nd3+-doping concentration, absorption efficiency can be near unity. Modeling shows that ~50% of the excited ions decay when the diode pump pulse is ~365 microseconds. And, compared to NIF, BSF saves an additional 10%, because it does not consume power cooling three thousand laser slabs.


> b.) spherical outer chamber

> I. surrounding the inner chamber

[An outer chamber would tend to surround the aforementioned inner chamber]


Patents require precision. A counterexample: outer- and inner-planets.


> II. with provisions for acoustic & electric transduction, enabling

> pre-ignition movement and compression of the fuel and also

> enabling post-ignition harvesting of the blast’s kinetic energy

[There's a lot being glossed over in the word "provisions"...essentially you have a grand idea, as many here have (and a few have even taken from words to design to prototype), but you haven't done more than make a claim as your opening act. The question is, why do you need our help? You already filed a patent back in 2010 (attached). Focusing on just one part of this grand statement could provide years of work for the educated, experienced, and well-funded lone researcher--I can't imagine what your handicap is going to be having dropped out of HS, having no higher education, little, if any experience, and unknown funding.]


I’m not impulsively driven to start construction on some half-baked plan. If my invention is destined to fail (which everyone seems to think it is), then it must have weaknesses. I want to focus on the weak spots, so an accurate assessment of its feasibility can be made. Where should I look?


> c.) space between the two chambers

> I. filled with a fluid

> i. that is an acoustical medium

> ii. that cools the inner chamber

[The space will be filled with a fluid (to be determined), that is an acoustical medium (Hint: sound will propagate through essentially any medium, though the quality and suitability for your application will vary.) It is redundant to state that the fluid will be an acoustical medium, only that you will be exploiting the acoustical properties of the "fluid." While writing about exploiting the fluid, you are also needing a fluid that will work as a coolant of the inner chamber. This might just be the easiest challenge, should you have access to the facilities to test a myriad of substances for suitability.]


Perhaps I’m missing the point, but doesn’t use of the term “acoustical medium” imply some intention to exploit acoustical properties? Yes, just about any liquid would work, but I only considered hydraulic fluid.


> d.) space inside the inner chamber

> I. filled with a fluid that

> i. circulates as an efficient high-temperature coolant

> ii. encapsulates gaseous fusible fuel inside of a bubble

> iii. is transparent to selected electromagnetic frequencies

> iv. is a laser gain medium that can amplify selected frequencies,

> so that the inner chamber can function as a spherical laser cavity

> v. is an acoustical medium, enabling fuel transport and compression

> vi. blocks x-rays, preventing damage to the chamber walls

> vii. absorbs neutrons, preventing the escape of hazardous radiation

> viii. breeds tritium, replenishing the supply of easily ignitable fuel

> ix. slows fuel dispersion during combustion, increasing burn-up fraction

[Well, that's not very many requirments...anybody at the fusor forum have a suggestion on this one?]



Here are two fluids I considered: the molten salt (LiF)a(Be2F)b(NdF3)c and the glass mixture (SiO2)a(PbO)b(Li2O)c(Nd2O3)d.

> 2. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method

> accurately determines the location of a bubble using the technique of

> multi-occultation triangulation.

[What's the first step to multi-occultation triangulation?]



Sorry, my patent application contains 100+ pages of details, the section titled “Archimedian Spiral Detector“ paragraphs [0092]-[0099] has an explanation. I would post a link, but I don’t want to be called a link-spammer, so you‘ll have to go find it yourself, sorry. : - (

> 3. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method is used

> to move a bubble by manipulating the pressure in its local environment, based on

> the ideas that

> a.) a bubble’s size is determined by the background pressure

> b.) a bubble’s direction of motion coincides with the buoyant force and is determined

> by the pressure gradient

> c.) the interplay between the buoyancy force and drag force causes large bubbles to

> move faster than small bubbles when subjected to the same pressure gradient

> d.) fluctuations in the background pressure can be synchronized with fluctuations

> in the pressure gradient, so that, even though the bubble is pulsating backwards

> and forwards in tiny steps, large overall displacements can be accumulated.

[Sounds like classic bubble behavior]


A bubble’s movement and position is controllable, from a distance, like a tractor beam.


> 4. A method applying to the device according to claim 1 where said method causes

> thermonuclear ignition in a bubble of fuel, comprising

> a.) positioning the fuel at the focus of a spherical laser cavity so that

> i.) the fuel will not be able to effectively cool by radiating away light

> ii.) the reactors structural components are well shielded from the explosion,

> making larger yields and higher gains possible

[It's a good thing fusion is "clean" because the reactor having to suffer the occasional explosion would eventually cause a problem. What did I read about tritium? The reactor is where these explosions are taking place; shielding or not, it better be some incredible structural support.]


Yes, my calculations indicate that the inner metal sphere would need to be about 0.25 meters thick, for yields of 4.7 GJ.


> b.) making the cavity laser-active, by pumping it with enough light to cause

> an upper-state population inversion

[You still think this is a wild idea?]


I don’t’ understand, please elaborate.


> c.) squeezing the fuel, so that

> i.) the fuel becomes hot and radiates brightly (sonoluminescence)

[Several places you refer to sonoluminescence with this definition...sono = of or having to do with sound energy; rarely acoustics. luminescence = emission of light by some mechanism. Thus sonoluminescence would have me thinking it has something to do with light being generated by the influence of sound energy on a process. Indeed, Wikipedia has a simple definition that is close enough.]



Um… yes. What is your point?

> ii.) the fuel’s radiation creates an outgoing laser cascade

> iii.) the fuel is in a state of pre-compression when the cascade returns

> iv.) the fuel is further heated and compressed by the powerful laser effect

> d.) containing (preventing dispersion of) the fuel, so that

> i.) the fuel can self-heat, lowering the energy required for drivers

> ii.) a greater fraction of the fuel gets burnt, increasing the gain

> iii.) low-temperature volume ignition is possible

[It all seems so simple to you. Where is the mathematics? Where is the rationale or reasoning that you can say after an initial start up this will be over-unity. Sorry if I'm the pessimist. My fusor produces neutrons, it was a project and a good one at that, but I think I am echoing others here when I say you are in the wrong place. Aside from theoretical questions on the forum, this is way beyond what an amateur fusioneer is going to be achieving, (correct me if I'm wrong) at the amateur level at home or in our labs at work...]



Thanks for asking. The mathematics is sprinkled throughout the patent application, all 100+ pages. Every question you asked (above) has already been addressed in the patent application, and in much more thoroughly than my answers here.


Take the hint...



…I’m waiting.

Regards,

-Jonathan


Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:58 am
by Scientist M.A.D.

Frank, : - )

a.) positioning the fuel at the focus of a spherical laser cavity so that--WILL IT LEVITATE SINCE ALL MATERIALS WILL VAPORIZE AT THESE TEMPERATURES.

Sorry, I’m confused. Levitate what? The gaseous bubble of fuel? What temperatures? The temperature inside the reactor changes with each pulse. Please elaborate.


i.) the fuel will not be able to effectively cool by radiating away light--WILL IT NOT RADIATE PROPORTIONAL TO T^4?

Yes, but its more complicated. During compression, the plasma inside the bubble gives off volumetric bremsstrahlung radiation, having a power loss of 5.34x10-23 n2 T0.5 erg s-1 cm-3. This radiation becomes thermally equilibrated in an opaque medium of which only the blackbody surface emission is observed for strongly driven bubbles, according to the Stephan-Boltzmann law, Q/A = s T4. But, it is important to realize that, because the inside of the sphere reflects electromagnetic radiation, the rate of reabsorption taking place at the surface of the bubble occurs in direct proportion to the rate of emission. The surface of the bubble obeys Kirchoff‘s Law: “emissivity equals absorptivity“ on a per wavelength basis, so that an object that does not absorb all incident light will also emit less radiation than an ideal blackbody. For a given laser intensity (W/cm2), the temperature (K) on the surface of a laser heated bubble can be calculated, using the constant s = 5.67x10-12W/cm2K4. When dealing with non-black surfaces, the deviations from the ideal blackbody behavior are determined by both the geometrical structure and the chemical composition.

ii.) the reactors structural components are well shielded from the explosion,

making larger yields and higher gains possible--WHAT IS THE SHIELD MATERIAL THAT CAN DO THIS AND HOW IS IT SUPPORTED? HOW DOES YOUR "PUMP" ENERGY GET IN IF THERE IS A SHIELD THERE?

Sorry, I should have explained, it is the coolant material itself that acts as a shield.

b.) making the cavity laser-active, by pumping it with enough light to cause

an upper-state population inversion--WHAT IS THE LASING MEDIUM AND WHAT IS THE EXCITATION MECHANISM?

The coolant is doped with a rare-earth element, like Nd, making it laser-active.

The coolant inside the sphere gets laser-pumped, using fiber-optic feed lines.

c.) squeezing the fuel, so that

i.) the fuel becomes hot and radiates brightly (sonoluminescence) ARE YOU GOING TO DETONATE AN ATOMIC BOMB TO ACHIEVE THIS COMPRESSION? AND THIS IS NOT SONOLUMINESCENCE.

High temperatures can be achieved inside of a bubble if a spherical arrangement of piezoelectric actuators outside the bubble are triggered simultaneously, causing an intense pressure wave to be constructively amplified as it travels across an incompressible fluid toward the bubble. Starting the laser cascade does not require extremely high temperatures, so atomic bombs are unnecessary. (figure 18)


 
ii.) the fuel’s radiation creates an outgoing laser cascade HOW DO NEUTRONS STIMULATE ELECTRONS FOR LASING ACTION?

Sorry, I was referring to the temperature dependent black-body electromagnetic radiation, not neutron radiation.

iii.) the fuel is in a state of pre-compression when the cascade returns--WHAT IS PRE-COMPRESSION, IS THAT LIKE UNCOMPRESSED?

No, I meant to say that the fuel is in a state of high acoustical compression when the laser cascade returns, so that the laser can increase the compression even further.

iv.) the fuel is further heated and compressed by the powerful laser effect EVEN IF THE OUTGOING ENERGY WERE LASER PUMP ENERGY, WHICH IT IS NOT, IT STILL WOULD NOT MEET THE CONDITIONS FOR LASING

You are mistaken, the laser energy comes from the diode-laser pumps. This energy is fed in through fiber-optic cables and disperses inside the sphere prior, causing an Nd dopant population inversion. The liquid laser medium has properties that satisfy conditions for amplification of black-body emissions.


I will spare you and the group with any further elaboration but I hope you are getting the point.




Frank Sanns


 

The patent you mentioned, titled “Tabletop nuclear fusion generator,” is a non-functional tinker-toy, incapable of generating efficient power or high neutron flux. I agree with the USPTO’s decision, that the invention is not “useful.” It cannot produce efficient nuclear fusion. It is nothing like my thermonuclear power plant. Thermonuclear reactors have to be big so that the fuel can be maintained at sufficiently high densities, temperatures, and under a long enough confinement time to burn significant amounts of fuel with energy gain. They should also have shielding, more than a meter thick, to contain dangerous neutrons.

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:24 am
by Chris Bradley
Mike A Deeth wrote:
> I’m not impulsively driven to start construction on some half-baked plan. If my invention is destined to fail (which everyone seems to think it is), then it must have weaknesses. I want to focus on the weak spots, so an accurate assessment of its feasibility can be made. Where should I look?

Without even beginning to address the physical aspects, the point I'd say is terribly weak is the maths.

Unless you can represent it in a mathematical form, then you have no hope of progressing the idea. *This* is what you should AND CAN look at - you only need a bit of paper.

The thing is - as far as I can tell you're claiming pumping liquid glass with lasers to induce fusion in gaseous bubbles within it. OK, sounds like a plan. Now tell us the specifics - how much power will these lasers need to generate to accomplish this, what temperature will this lead to in the glass versus the bubbles of fuel, how much heat are you hoping to reflect, how efficient will it be (losing 30% efficiency in the shells at 10kW is 3kW, can you shells be made to handle that power) etc., etc..

These types of questions are what makes your patent application 'indefinite'.

What you have is an idea whose scope [let alone mechanisms] have yet to be defined in enough detail to determine any quantities you might need to create this device. Maybe it does work, but maybe it needs to be 800,000 miles in diameter for it to work.

Here's an example; I have an idea where you feed hydrogen into an evacuated space, and the force of gravity alone will pull it all together so close that fusion will happen.

It's a great idea!!! But we *know* that needs to be 800,000 miles in diameter!!! So unless you can turn your idea into a bunch of equations then it is impossible to deduce the bondary parameters of what you need to do. And if you can't find enough information on it, then maybe it's because *you* need to try pumping liquid glass with lasers first to see what happens.

Do the lasers need to be 10W lasers and 1us pulses, or do they need to be 10 petawatt lasers with 10 femtosecond pulses? Who the heck knows?

So what you have to ask yourself is; this is a blank piece of paper in front of me and I have access to the most powerful personal computers in history, so powerful they could blow my mind clean off. Do I think I'm lucky enough to solve fusion power for humanity? Well, do ya'!?

Re: laser ICF + Sonofusion = BSF

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:47 pm
by Carl Willis
>I’m not impulsively driven to start construction on some half-baked plan.

There, you said it yourself: "half-baked."

This thread will be closed since it is becoming a noisy distraction and is quite distant from our community's experience with real, small-scale, experimental fusion. Indeed the hodge-podge of half-baked ideas in evidence could be critiqued from a myriad of different directions, but most fundamentally for the purposes of forum discussion viability, this is stuff that stands a zero-point-zero percent chance of theoretical or practical development in its current state. The discussion so far tells us pretty much all we need to know about the discussion to come: sarcasm, chest-thumping, bickering about irrelevant details, and a steadfast reluctance from the inventor to reduce his idea to practice or break it down into bite-sized chunks.

When (if) the time comes that this is a "fully-baked" idea, let's have a new thread to treat the new developments. To me, fully-baked means practically approachable, supported by credible scientific precedent, and serious (as evidenced by leveraging the appropriate expertise and making tangible investments in preliminary research). That may seem like a high bar for introducing new ideas to our site, but ideas are a dime a dozen and we have to draw the line somewhere.

Thanks for your understanding.

-Carl