First Neutrons in Fusor II

Current images of fusor efforts, components, etc. Try to continuously update from your name, a current photo using edit function. Title post with your name once only. Change image and text as needed. See first posting for details.
Post Reply
Jack Rosky
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 10:08 pm
Real name: Jack Rosky
Location: New Jersey

First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Jack Rosky »


Written Overview:


Neutron Detection- Our neutron detection consisted of a bubble dosimeter rated at 29 bubbles/mrem. Our He-3 counter will be running shortly after we get it calibrated against a proper source.

Vacuum system- Our vacuum system consists of the same 1 CFM mechanical pump (Pfiefer-Balzers). Despite being small, it easily pumped our entire system down to 6.5 mTorr before turning on the diffusion pump. Our diffusion pump is a 3” Varian Air-Cooled pump with a water cooled baffle (separate from the pump) in order to prevent the oil from backstreaming. After our diffusion pump is a CF 2.75” bellows valve in order to throttle down the system. Our main vacuum chamber is a 9” inner diameter sphere.


Gas System- Our gas system consists of a 10 liter lecture bottle of 99.8% deuterium, a ball valve, and a 0-10 sccm Mass Flow Controller. Our gas system provides very precise control over gas flow into the chamber and allows us to maintain a constant pressure. Because of this, we were able to run the fusor, hands-free, for a total of 45 minutes before we had to stop due to the HVPS arcing somewhere in our HV line.

High Voltage- Our high voltage system consists of -40kv 7.5mA Glassman power supply. This supply required us to build our own controller to supply a 0-10 reference voltage to the supply. The panels on our controller are not fully functional, so instead we use a fluke high voltage probe that records on a 2000: 1 ratio. This is why when read at -10 volts the supply is actually giving out -20kv.


Data collected from run:

Date and Time of run: August 10, 2016 at 1:15 PM
Operators: Scott Moroch and Jack Rosky
Voltage: 22kv
Current: Currently unknown. Assumed to be about 4mA
Pressure:17mTorr
Grid Material: Stainless Steel
Grid type: 3- ring. Rosenstiel method
Background count on detector: 0 bubbles for 1 hour background check
Bubbles per exposure time: 12 bubbles/ 20 minutes
Distance from center of grid: 6”
Total length of run: 55 minutes
Total time run without operating controls: 45 minutes

Brief overview of fusor subsystems during first fusion run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKUCQfc9zpY
Attachments
A nice picture of the monitor setup and the fusor in the background
A nice picture of the monitor setup and the fusor in the background
Picture of the control panel we made for Fusor II
Picture of the control panel we made for Fusor II
Picture of the control screen. Webcam and online webcam tester are being used to provide a live feed of the plasma.
Picture of the control screen. Webcam and online webcam tester are being used to provide a live feed of the plasma.
Picture of the Bubbles in the BTI.
Picture of the Bubbles in the BTI.
If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.
-Issac Newton
User avatar
Steven Sesselmann
Posts: 2127
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:50 pm
Real name: Steven Sesselmann
Location: Sydney - Australia
Contact:

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Steven Sesselmann »

Jack,

Congratulations on completing a really nice clean fusor project, and achieving good neutron numbers at only 22 kV.

I plugged your data into the fusion calculator and it all looks like a good result.

Thumbs up from me..

Steven

http://www.gammaspectacular.com/fusion_calculator.html
Jack Rosky's first published fusion run
Jack Rosky's first published fusion run
http://www.gammaspectacular.com - Gamma Spectrometry Systems
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Sesselmann - Various papers and patents on RG
User avatar
Richard Hull
Moderator
Posts: 14991
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2001 9:44 am
Real name: Richard Hull

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Richard Hull »

Good Job, Scott and Jack! Your names are added to the neutron club listing.
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
User avatar
Dennis P Brown
Posts: 3159
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 10:46 am
Real name: Dennis Brown

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Great work and good reporting! Your efforts demonstrate good experimental procedures. Congratulations.
Jack Rosky
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 10:08 pm
Real name: Jack Rosky
Location: New Jersey

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Jack Rosky »

Hello All!
First I'd like to say thank you for all the nice words and congratulations. I would just like to point out that this is not Scott and I's first fusion. It is simply our first fusion in our new system. Our first fusion was done around this time last year. Here is the neutron club claim from last year: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10277

Thank you Richard for admitting us to the neutron club, but we happen to already be there. Sorry for the confusion from the title having "first neutrons" in it.

We hope to bring up the voltage soon as we are fixing a place where it arcs past 25kv. Stay tuned for increased fusion numbers and for our experiment regarding different metal plates within the fusor.
Thanks again,
Jack
If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.
-Issac Newton
User avatar
Scott Moroch
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:48 pm
Real name: Scott Moroch
Location: New Jersey

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Scott Moroch »

Today Jack and I saw an increased amount of fusion with our best run being 1.19e5 n/s isotropic (10 bubbles in 164 seconds on a 29bubble/mrem BTI at a distance of 5 inches). We also managed to capture some nicer star mode pictures which are attached before. We are hoping to continue running our system until we hit 1e6 n/s in order to conduct activation experiments.

Scott Moroch
Attachments
image4.JPG
image3.JPG
image2.JPG
image1.JPG
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity"
-Albert Einstein
User avatar
Richard Hull
Moderator
Posts: 14991
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2001 9:44 am
Real name: Richard Hull

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Richard Hull »

Fabulous pictures! That is the look of fusion! Back in the days when we made full geodesics, the rays were fabulous. I got as many as 14 star rays in one of my early images.

Sorry about the double posting. I irradicated the latest admission statement. Thanks for the heads up.

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
User avatar
Scott Moroch
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:48 pm
Real name: Scott Moroch
Location: New Jersey

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Scott Moroch »

Our latest fusion run hit 180,000 n/s at 38kV, 3mA and 11mTorr. This run was conducted after taking the previous grid out in order to change the grid design slightly. Pictures of star mode are below. You will now notice a short length of stainless steel tubing emerging from the top of the ceramic before the grid itself.

Scott Moroch
Attachments
image1 (16).JPG
image1 (15).JPG
image2 (7).JPG
image3 (8).JPG
image4 (4).JPG
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity"
-Albert Einstein
User avatar
Dennis P Brown
Posts: 3159
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 10:46 am
Real name: Dennis Brown

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Really nice photo's of your star mode.
User avatar
Richard Hull
Moderator
Posts: 14991
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2001 9:44 am
Real name: Richard Hull

Re: First Neutrons in Fusor II

Post by Richard Hull »

It is so visibly obvious and so believable your numbers from carefully executed fusor work. I wish all such claims of fusion were so obvious, visually and experimentally reported. Keep going and you will hit 500K soon, easy.

You might be able, right now, to do silver activation and check it with a simple GM counter using good technique. (background count of 5 minutes - no fusor. Silver count within 10 seconds of fusor shutdown of one minute - remove silver and do a final background of 5 minutes.) Average the CPM of both background runs and compare with the 1 minute silver measurement.

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
Post Reply

Return to “Images du Jour”