Fusion Message Board

In this space, visitors are invited to post any comments, questions, or skeptical observations about Philo T. Farnsworth's contributions to the field of Nuclear Fusion research.

Subject: High pressure D2 fusion
Date: Oct 26, 9:50 am
Poster: Richard Hull

On Oct 26, 9:50 am, Richard Hull wrote:

While considering the high pressure lamp scenario for neutron production, it must be remembered that the mean free path in high pressure gases is in the thousandth of a millimeter range. This will not allow much room for acceleration. It would be fine if the entire gase was at a true fusion temperature, but in these lamps it is, again, many orders of magnitude too low.

Remember the "temperature" of an ion (deuteron) in a plasma normally is related to its kenetic energy. This is normally 11,000 degrees K per EV or particle energy. In a plasma the fall through the potential accelerates the ion.

In a fusor we have a mean free path greater than the radius of the 6" fusor and many fortunate ions make the full fall through the 70mm distance and achieve 20Kev energy arriving at the center at about 200 million degrees Kelvin.

In the D2 lamp of 1atm. or greater, assuming we could support 20kv across the lamp, (which we cannot), and with a spacing of the arc electrodes of 4mm, that would allow the deuterons to achieve about 5kev/mm of travel. With a mean free path of even 1/100 of a mm, no deuteron could ever exceed 50ev before colliding with a fellow ion and losing energy. In actuality it is far less than even this figure.

So it appears there can be no fusion is such a high pressure environment according to currently accepted theory.

Richard Hull