Update on the Dense Plasma Focus Dr. Walter Rowntree Affiliate Faculty Idaho State University Blog: The Tesla and the Tent Teslatent.wordpress.com Update or Introduction? Show of hands: Did you attend the first DPF lecture in 2012? What is a Dense Plasma Focus Device? Progress over the last 2 years Roadmap to breakeven DPF? ● 1961 ● 1954 Who are these people? ● 40 DPF machines are in use around the world, studying plasma physics ● Lawrenceville Plasma Physics in New Jersey – Focus Fusion-1 DPF (FF-1) VIDEO ● Animation of a DPF Shot Why Do Martians Care? ● Ions discharged at 1000's of Km/sec ● VASIMR ● 5 MegaWatts of power This is NOT technology for Mars Direct VASIMR Net Power From Fusion ● Physics Problems – ITER (Tokamak) ● Engineering Problems – NIF (Gigantoid Lasers) ● Funding problems – Everyone else ● Cheap? Abundant? Clean? Cheap? Abundant? Clean? ● D-D vs D-T vs B-H (aneutronic) Lawrenceville Plasma Physics ● 2007 Eric Lerner gives Google Tech Talk outlining concept youtube: yhKB-VxJWpg ● 2008 Additional funding received ● 2009 First pinch with FF-1 machine ● 2011 FF-1 achieves shots with considerably higher yields than historical DPF trend ● 2012 LPP reports 1.8 billion degrees, beating old record from 1978 of 1.1 FF-1 Advantages ● Scales to smaller size ● No steam turbine ● Safe ● Cheap ● Clean What is needed for fusion breakeven? ● Temperatures ● Confinement time ● Density ● T x t x D = triple product Recent Milestones ● 1.8 billion degrees achieved ● 20 ns confinement time achieved – FF-1 now has the highest triple product ● Validation of theory – Where do fusion reactions occur? ● http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pop/19/3/10.1063/1.3694746 ● Independent review ● Tungsten electrode Roadmap to higher densities ● Other DPF's: x 100 ● Reduce impurities ● Heavier gases ● Shorter Electrodes Validation of Theory ● The DPF operates more effectively with heavier elements ● The pinch improves when the DPF is scaled to smaller sizes ● The Quantum Magnetic Field Effect ● Plasma ions exhaust along axis Further Validation of Theory Achieve Billion Gauss magnetic fields ● Increase current ● Tungsten electrodes ● Shorten electrodes ● Beryllium electrodes Independent Review Commitee Teslatent.wordpress.com .