Please Take The Time To Read

[charlie_mccartney]

My name is Charlie McCartney and I attending Westlake Academy. I am 15 and I am going into the 10th grade. I have always been interested in nuclear physics because to me it was like magic, being able to turn one element into another and being able to split the only thing that keeps this world together. Every student in my grade is going to have to do something called a "Personal Project". Most people start a organization or something. I wanted to do something that I can put on my resume that very few people my age have ever done that would help me get into my dream college - MIT. I talked to Tyler Christensen that did this - http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/ and is currently attending MIT. I have been thinking about it and I have decided that for my personal project I want to build a table top deuterium fusion reactor. Tyler pointed me to this website and here I am. I am looking for any help that people are willing to lend me some help in the right direction and a mentor me.This project is due in may of next year and ever since I have started thinking about it, it is the only thing I can think about and the only thing I want. Please if you have some spare time or would like to mentor me though this I would be extremely grateful thank you.

[charlie_mccartney]

Pump - http://www.amazon.com/Supercool-Micron- ... acuum+pump
Oil Diffusion Pump - http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/pro ... &region=US
Vacuum Chamber - I am going to make my own spherical chamber that is going to be 24 inches in diameter out of 1 inch think steel.
High Voltage - Need help
Nuclear Radiation Dectector - Need Help
Geiger Counter -http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=485

I also fogot to mention that I want to acheive Nuclear fusion with this reactor.

[Chris Bradley]

I am looking for any help that people are willing to lend me some help in the right direction and a mentor because every teacher I have talked to has no faith in me. Ever since the beginning of 8th grade all teachers have hated me because I am more intelligent than them, I have a estimated IQ of 180 and they hate me for that.

It is extremely rare for people to hate others simply for being 'more intelligent' than them, especially teachers. I am a qualified teacher and I can tell you that there is nothing that pulls people [of a serious professional disposition towards the vocation] into teaching more than the thought that one day you might stimulate and encourage an intellect that 'spirals up into the ascendency', and without regard for your own modest limitations.

There again, you might just have bad teachers. But another reason people hate 'intelligent people' is because 'intelligence' takes many forms, and if it is so focussed and self-centred to the point of dismissive arrogance then it will be a fruitless and frustrated intellect. I'm tending to think the latter circumstance holds just at the moment, I'm afraid, because that's one heck of an introduction criticising others for your lack of progress, your post title and its insistence of how important your words are, and seeking to answer your own post. Phew. Not the best start.

You need to come here having answered your own questions already (especially if you are so intelligent!), and your answers to your own questions can then be verified, discussed, conditionally supported, suggestions made, &c., or dismissed and/or your learning re-directed.

At the moment I will go for re-directing your learning - go read more, and then come back and give a little bit better than 'Need help'!

[charlie_mccartney]

The first question I have is that is there a limit to how big or small the chamber is.

[charlie_mccartney]

Can you only use Deuterium in table top fusors.

[charlie_mccartney]

My only intention is to learn.

[Anson Tsang]

Your school runs the IB curriculum, is that right? You probably have to build multiple designs as required in IB.

[Julian Kang]

Most fusors use deuterium as their fuel source. To the best of my knowledge, there is no limit but you should have a grid size to chamber ration of 1:4 or 1:5. 24 inches sounds too big IMO, are you using salad dishes?

Julian

[Richard Hull]

One inch thick!!! 24 inches in diameter!!! What is your chamber from.... an old surplus sea mine?!

Nice to be so bright, but you must also be rich to be able to afford the space, pumps, instruments and waste deuterium in a continuously pumped system that is so large. All the very best on this. You must be loaded with spare cash or have an ego the size of your IQ.

Yes.......Deuterium is the only thing you can grab that will fuse in your fusor.

I would be willing to take side bets among my fellow fusioneers here that this never gets built. Over the last 15 years we've seen 'em come and we've seen 'em go. There is an inverse square relationship between the initial size of the system planned and the hopes of doing quick fusion and what actually takes place or transpires. In general, spherical systems over 8" never get built by any newbie. Few old neutron club members ever move beyond 8" as well.

"Smarts" can't replace or compete with the hands-on imperative. Smarts can talk-the-talk, but by itself, can't walk-the-walk.

Richard Hull

[Chris Bradley]

I would be willing to take side bets among my fellow fusioneers here that this never gets built.

Depends on the odds. A million to one would still seem to be short odds! 10 million to one? I'll put a dollar down .... (waste of a dollar, probably!)

[David Swan]

Pump - http://www.amazon.com/Supercool-Micron- ... acuum+pump
Oil Diffusion Pump - http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/pro ... &region=US
Vacuum Chamber - I am going to make my own spherical chamber that is going to be 24 inches in diameter out of 1 inch think steel.
High Voltage - Need help
Nuclear Radiation Dectector - Need Help
Geiger Counter -http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=485

I also fogot to mention that I want to acheive Nuclear fusion with this reactor.

The first pump you've linked to probably won't cut it as a fore-pump and the second come up as discontinued.

As has been said, take things steadily rather than jumping in at the (Very) deep end.

You've got a physics dept at school? See if you can borrow a 2-stage lab rotary pump, and possibly a good glass bell-jar and plate, possibly from an old bell-in-a-vacuum apparatus and work up from there. That's what I'm doing for the moment (It helps that I'm the senior technician, so can just grab unused stuff)
Demo fusor first to make sure you really understand, from hands-on, not just book-learning (Though book-learning's vital as well).
Then progress to a real working fusor.

And as the real experts here have said, keep the dia small, 15-20cm is ideal. You don't need a huge thickness to withstand atmospheric pressure, and in any case lead is better than SS for blocking x-rays.

Good luck with your endeavours (Not being sarky)

[Carl Willis]

Hello Charlie,

Your first priority as a 15-year-old interested in a fusion project should be to find a local mentor who is at least knowledgeable in electrical safety and willing to work with you. University physics departments, national labs, and private industry are all good places to look for helpful advisers, but you might also have family connections or teachers who are up to the task. Also, like it or not, your parents really run the show: If they're not on board with your plans, then your plans aren't going to be realized. When you have parental buy-in, a budget, a work space, and a mentor, then you are ready to start a parts list.

For making informed decisions about your design, there is no substitute to reading the forum's archives. About fifteen years' worth of discussion are archived here. That is a lot of information, and you need to give yourself the time to browse it at a comfortable pace. Identify examples of successful projects built by young fusioneers. Connect with them and get their advice, since your circumstances are probably similar. Use successful projects to shape your own ideas about what goals are realistic. On the other hand, the forum is full of optimistic, ambitious entrances just like yours, with no follow-on. The success rate for similarly-disposed young people getting into the "Neutron Club" appears to be very small. That's understandable: people your age often have busy lives and many other priorities, frequently unrealistic ambitions, and short attention spans. But to be a "Neutron Club" entry, history suggests your project needs to be a major sustained commitment for at least a year.

I hope we can have a good discussion about your plans for construction and operation, but this will come after you have dealt with the preliminaries I just mentioned. Good luck!

-Carl

[charlie_mccartney]

Thank you Richard and I know it sounded preposterous and it is I just wanted to see. That was the first day I was thinking about it and ever since then I have actually done some research. I have a plan and I was wondering 3 things.

1) What is the recommended size of the chamber ( I am trying to acheive actual fusion not just the glow)?
2) What material should the chamber be made out of ( I am going to make the inner grid out of tungsten wire)?
3) I was thinking about using a turbo pump with a oil diffusion pump, would that work?

[charlie_mccartney]

I have just read a few things and now my plan is to have a 8 inch thick chamber with a 1.75 inch grid using SS.
What grade of stainless steel would you recommended.

[charlie_mccartney]

I am willing to put in up to 3 hours a day on this. Motivation is not an issue. I am just looking for a mentor like you said.

[charlie_mccartney]

I know a person that has the second highest clearance in the U.S.A. and she works for Lockheed Martin and I have asked her to ask the Electronics and Nuclear Dept. if anyone would like to mentor me/help me.

[Tom McCarthy]

Charlie the edit is quite usefu for avoiding double, triple and quadruple posting, it should be in the top right corner of your post.

For Stainless steel, grade 304 can be used forty miles in land as far as I am aware, though my Dad who often works with it, always 306 or higher to be on the safe side of things.

You should only use one of either the diffusion pump or turbo-pump. You will need a mechanical pump either way to bring the vacuum to a suitable level for the diffusion or turbo-pump to start. Those types of pumps have a working range this means they will only begin to evacuate effectively at a certain pressure and will then reach a certain vacuum with the right conditions.

Hope this helped,
Tom

[Julian Kang]

Charlie, 15cm-20cm is the average size. SS should be fine for a fusor.

Julian

[charlie_mccartney]

Julian therefore 8 inches should be just a tiny big. 8 inches = 20.32 centimeters

[Richard Hull]

8" thick!!! Don't you mean 8" in diameter. Try and express things in proper terms. The average fusor shell thickness is .060 inches or 60 mils.

Richard Hull

[charlie_mccartney]

Sorry about that, yes 8 inches in diameter.

[Paul_Schatzkin]

Oy.

Sounds like the Second Coming of Taylor Wilson...

--P