Theoretical models are
been refined on the Focus Fusion protocol and there is clearly increasing
confidence that continued scaling will produce progressively superior
results. Rather important is that the
design protocol appears to produce improving results with increasing scale and
power inputs while inherently stable.
This has been inverse to the experience with Tokomak designs.
Of course we may soon
discover otherwise but I do think optimism is justified. As mentioned the technology is about one year
away from achieving breakeven with proper
funding. For the impatient, that has
been the missing ingredient although I must say, scarcity also drives
innovation and plenty of rethinking. Yet
sooner or later you must cut metal and those tungsten electrodes cannot be
faked.
This is continuing good
news.
New analysis sees
promise in Focus Fusion
Italian
physicist analyses Focus Fusion, sees promise
This
story is part of LPP's November 4th, 2013 newsletter, available in PDF
format here. Join the discussion at the
Focus Fusion Society here.
In
a third independent analysis of the prospects for pB11 (hydrogen-boron) fusion
with the plasma focus device, University of Genoa researcher Andrea Di Vita reports in the
European Journal of Physics that
ignition of the fuel should be possible, if there is substantial reflection
of x-ray energy back into the plasmoid. Earlier, separate analyses by LPP researchers and Iranian researchers in the Journal of Fusion
Energy had concluded that ignition and net energy production would be possible
even with no reflection of x-rays. Also, in agreement with LPP work, Di Vita concluded
that the injection of angular momentum into the plasma (for example by an
externally-applied axial magnetic field, as in FF-1) should aid in achieving
ignition.
Di
Vita’s report makes clear the reason for the somewhat differing conclusions,
although all three analyses agree that pB11 with a plasma focus (what LPP has
termed “Focus Fusion”) is a promising line of approach to fusion energy. As Di
Vita emphasizes, his analysis is based on certain “empirical scaling laws”
that he has derived from the literature. As Di Vita writes, “Admittedly,
the relevance of available scaling laws to our problem is questionable, to say
the least. First of all, they are just rule-of thumb descriptions...”
These rules-of-thumb scaling laws differ significantly from the
theoretically-derived scaling laws used by LPP, laws which have been
significantly confirmed by experiment. For example, Di Vita’s scaling laws do
not predict the observed I5 scaling of fusion yield, where I is peak
current, while the LPP scaling laws do. Similarly, Di Vita’s calculations
predict a constant current in the plasmoid or hot spots of about 0.4 MA, while
the LPP believes its calculations and theory more accurately predict increasing
plasmoid current with increasing peak current.
Following
a friendly exchange on different models with LPP’s Lerner, Di Vita offered to
predict the results of FF-1’s upcoming experiments with tungsten electrodes.
Stay tuned for the exciting outcome!
-
See more at:
http://lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/index.php?option=com_lyftenbloggie&view=entry&year=2013&month=11&day=04&id=111:new-analysis-sees-promise-in-focus-fusion&Itemid=90&utm_source=Fusion+Progress+Updates&utm_campaign=5f05fd46cb-Monthly_newsletter_number5_15_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7256c6d6ac-5f05fd46cb-56302157#sthash.nEjptnfd.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment