Voltage

[David Nagy]

Is there a reflation ship between chamber size and voltage?

[Chris Bradley]

Usually, the larger the chamber one can afford to buy, the larger the power supply also!

In regards the technical matters, look up 'Paschen's Law' and have a think on how that affects the workings of small and large chambers. It is not a straight-forward thing, so you might need to be a bit more specific with your question.

Interesting, insightful questions referencing good research done before asking a question are always welcome. Questions heading towards spoon feeding don't usually get answers.

[David Nagy]

I looked at paschens law and I can understand it only to a point afterall I am only 13.

[prestonbarrows]

An arc is basically an avalanche chain-reaction where a few electrons are ripped off an atom, accelerated by an electric field, then smack another atom and pull off more electrons which are also accelerated etc etc. This process depends on the strength of the electric field doing the accelerating and the number of other atoms around (pressure) available to contribute more electrons to the cascade.

The conditions of when this will happen are described by the 'Paschen curve'. Basically, a gap of a given physical distance surrounded by a given pressure will hold off a given voltage. This is in the 'best case' scenario (between two large, flat, plates). In practice, sharp points on the electrodes will break down before this due to what is known as 'field enhancement'.

Putting this all together: There is a minimum voltage needed for fusion in an IEC device. There is also a certain pressure range that tends to work best. Plugging these values into the Paschen curve will give you a minimum distance that the inner grid must be separated from the grounded chamber walls to prevent arcing (which will make the system fail).

[Tom McCarthy]

David,
Don't let your age hold you back or become an excuse for why you can't do x, y or z.
If you spend time reading about it, you will be able to fully understand it. Simply reading the Wkipedia page may be enough to have a complete knowledge and understanding of whatever you are looking at, but often times a bit more research is required. It all depends on how well you can piece information together and a bit on how well the page was written, but if, as you have said, have been "interested in physics and engineering" all your life, you should be able to 'get' Paschen's Law and anything else that springs up in front of your face.

If you're 13 I'd say you're as capable as if you are 18, bar things such as driving. Myself, I am just gone 14, since late November. All you need to do is spend time generously and efficiently and you'll be able to understand whatever you need understand!

Tom

[David Nagy]

Thank you for the responses, I will keep you guys posted, I am ordering my vacuum vessel parts on Sunday!

[Richard Hull]

A 6" diameter metal fusor can do and has done 2 million fusions per second at 43,000 volts. It requires only a controlled vacuum and gas flow and a first class feed-thru insulator. Smaller sizes get a lot more tricky, but have done low-level fusion.

In the end it is all about the insulator and grid hanger system as to how much voltage can be impressed into a fusor and thereby, how much fusion can be done. Try not to go below 4" in diameter or you may need to spend a bit of money in your detection setup to prove you are actually doing fusion.

Richard Hull