Hydrogen operation

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David Nagy
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Hydrogen operation

Post by David Nagy »

Hi, I M starting to build a fusor now and I would like to keep the operating costs down because I am afterall self funding this. So would hydrogen work instead of deuterium or helium?
In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.

J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Richard Hull
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Re: Hydrogen operation

Post by Richard Hull »

Only deuterium gas will fuse. Nothing else on planet earth that you can get on a budget of any kind will ever fuse....Period!

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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Scott Moroch
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Re: Hydrogen operation

Post by Scott Moroch »

David,

Based off of some of your recent questions, I would really recommend reading more of the FAQ's. They will answer most of your questions and keep the forum free of frequently asked questions.

Thank you,

Scott Moroch
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity"
-Albert Einstein
David Nagy
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Re: Hydrogen operation

Post by David Nagy »

But I heard thet helium can be fused, is this true?
In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.

J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Carl Willis
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Re: Hydrogen operation

Post by Carl Willis »

Under appropriate conditions, all of the light natural nuclei can react in fusion reactions. But your interest is in doing fusion cheaply and detectably. That limits you to deuterium, the only substance ever used successfully in hobby IEC experiments. Academic and professional research labs sometimes describe the use of other fuels like tritium, helium-3, or boron-11, but these alternatives are not chosen to be cost-competitive with DD fusion; all are, in fact, far more costly to obtain or implement practically.

Deuterium in a cylinder, and a regulator to dispense it, will set you back about $350 (prices and availability are widely discussed in archived discussions). The deuterium itself only costs about $30, while the lion's share of the outlay goes to pay for the cylinder itself (a disposable, generally non-refillable steel lecture bottle), the regulator, and the hazardous transportation charges. People tightly constrained by budget sometimes find electrolysis of heavy water an attractive alternative, since this approach involves no cylinder, regulator, or hazmat charges. It does, however, sacrifice simplicity and gas purity. Read about the various approaches to electrolysis in archived discussions.

-Carl
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David Nagy
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:37 pm
Real name: David Nagy

Re: Hydrogen operation

Post by David Nagy »

Thanks I might try the electrolysis method.
In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.

J. Robert Oppenheimer
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