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: Re: Stripping - the answer???
Date: Nov 18, 11:45 pm
Poster: Richard HullOn Nov 18, 11:45 pm, Richard Hull wrote:
>Richard - I hope you aren't casting me in with naysayers and scoffers... I am just trying to understand what the definitive experiment or results (if either exists) would be.
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NO! Goodness no. The folks on this list are offering their best, I am sure of that.
The naysayers are those who don't want to even consider ECF as an alternative method of fusion or feel that amateurs can't really do hot fusion. RH
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>As long as people can claim "stripping" takes place, merely detecting neutrons will not satisfy them. I don't know anything about stripping neutrons. But... presumably, those who attribute the Fusors' neutron production to stripping, have in mind a rather low energy process, in the order of 20 KeV or even less. Since KeV is an energy, without regard to charge or mass, it would seem that either electrons, protons or Deuterons could provide sufficient collisional energy to "strip" neutrons. It seems hard to envision a low energy ion precipitating a multi MEV process.... unless a fusion (or fission , I guess) process was involved.
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>This suggests at least one kind of experiment, which could be done with a simple electron gun geometry and a std Neutron detector. Simply bombard low Pressure Deuterium gas with electrons up to whatever KeV level is desired. I have access to a special kind of eBeam tube.. (we make them) with a 3 micron thick Si window. Allows electrons above 30 kV to pass through.. and below that.. down to about 1.6 KeV, Xrays, only.
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>I have already done measurements using the tube as its own residual pressure gage. It is possible to obtain ion currents of nano amps from 100 uA emission current at internal pressures of 1E-6 to 1E-9 torr. This is of course very much like a common hot filament ionization gage.
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>Couldn't a tube like this filled with deuterium, provide evidence of stripping by raising the voltage and looking for neutrons. Or, equivalently, using the tube {or a simple electron gun} to bombard D at low pressure, and again... look for neutrons. If they were found at a few tens of KeV, then something other than fusion must be occurring. If not, then some other source must be responsible for the Neutrons in a fusor.
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This is a good idea. Thge neutron counter would have to be checked prior to the experiment for sensitivity to X-radiation and Gamma radiation.
Most neutron counters (BF3 and the BC-720 systems) are totally insensitive to even mighty blasts of near MEV levels of such onslaughts. I know mine are proof against these common radiations. It is just important that the counter count only neutrons and rare cosmic ray related events.
Richard Hull