Build your own fusion reactor (really!)

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Drewcifer
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Build your own fusion reactor (really!)

Post by Drewcifer »

The ultimate open source project.

http://fusor.net/
fusor.net wrote:The Nuclear Reactor High-School Science Project

I notice a few of you have gone glassy eyed on me. Trust me, this is easy. A Farnsworth-Hirsch machine is so simple it could be built as a high-school science project (though I caution that a knowledgeable advisor should be sought, and good safety practices must be followed). You will need to borrow, buy, or build some vacuum equipment, obtain a small supply of deuterium, and figure out some instruments so you can tell if it is working, but the actual reactor components are trivially simple to build, and will cost only a few cents!
(just be careful Hyperion; I read about your Pu experience over on sb)
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jaeger115
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Post by jaeger115 »

What "typical reactor components"? It sounds like that guy knows nothing about fusion reactors and is trying to sell off a scam.
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Drewcifer
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Post by Drewcifer »

It might all be bs, but the site reads more like an instruction manual than a site for selling anything. I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about physics or nuclear engineering, but none of the statements made or science referenced sounded outlandish or metaphysical to me.

Too, they're not talking about building a tokamak in your basement, but rather a simple fusion reactor. Surf around there a bit, check more of it out before condemning it :)

At any rate, it makes for an interesting read.
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Shadow
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Re: Build your own fusion reactor (really!)

Post by Shadow »

You will need to borrow, buy, or build some vacuum equipment, obtain a small supply of deuterium, and figure out some instruments so you can tell if it is working, but the actual reactor components are trivially simple to build, and will cost only a few cents!
He later mentions this, of course:

"A professional lab could probably manage to sink $50,000 in equipment for such a project. Purchasing used equipment, you could probably build a simple unit for well under $2,000. I suspect a particularly talented scrounge/beggar could get by for around $500 out of pocket, which I estimate could be raised in under a month of flipping burgers, or a couple of days of computer consulting."
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Brother-Captain Gaius
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Post by Brother-Captain Gaius »

Um... I could be wrong on this but, AFAIK there has only been 1 controlled cold fusion reaction ever, and it could not be reproduced for some reason...

Maybe I'm thinking of something else and I'm horribly wrong. :? :?:
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Shadow
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Post by Shadow »

JediNeophyte wrote:Um... I could be wrong on this but, AFAIK there has only been 1 controlled cold fusion reaction ever, and it could not be reproduced for some reason...

Maybe I'm thinking of something else and I'm horribly wrong. :? :?:
The site does not have anything to do with "cold fusion."
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Brother-Captain Gaius
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Post by Brother-Captain Gaius »

Well since cold fusion is currently the only feasible controlled fusion technology, I'd assumed that a site dealing with fusion reactors would concern cold fusion (as opposed to the fusion used in stars...)
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Shadow
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Post by Shadow »

JediNeophyte wrote:Well since cold fusion is currently the only feasible controlled fusion technology, I'd assumed that a site dealing with fusion reactors would concern cold fusion (as opposed to the fusion used in stars...)
No, it uses electric feilds to accelerate particles so that they have at least the average kinetic energy of all particles in the substance, or temperature, required for fusion. Of course, it requires more energy than is gained, so it is useless at the moment
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Exonerate
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Post by Exonerate »

Hmm... How dangerous is this? Maybe I could make a railgun or EMP generator for my future sci projects...

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