Talk-Polywell.org

So could a "Dragon 9" be designed that would be pure shuttle? Extended first stage that hits orbit, Dragon detaches and rocket and capsule return separate (or even together!?)? I speculate that such a two stage fully recoverable system might be possible. Basically you would need to keep the second ...

FYI, from the video the reentry first stage velocity is ~ 1 Km/s for LEO, and ~ 2 Km/s for this mission. That is ~ 7200 Km/hr, or ~ 800-900 Km/hr decrease from peak first stage peak speed. Final speed may upon reentry may be mildly greater (?) as the stage falls towards the atmosphere, or this numbe...

For those who missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlnIT39NkVM The significance here is that this was a GTO flight. I don't know the weight of JCSAT-14, however it would seem she was heavy given the landing kinematics (3 engine decel/landing burn). Musk has but two boxes to check, re-flight o...

The cost of three cores compared to one would depend on economies of scale (mass production), but I wonder if the major consideration may be reusability. I suspect the two booster cores would lend themselves to recovery and reuse more so than the central core that would push the upper stage to a hig...

Structures like struts are magnetically shielded and perhaps also electrostatically shielded Magnetic shielding of struts is difficult at the interface with the magnets. Electrostatic shielding looks easy if you're dealing with a single particle species, but is practically impossible with a near ne...

In the Polywell a deep potential well is assumed No, it is not. Is a requirement. This is the next test... The ability to drive the well is the point of conjecture. I meant that if you assume ion electrostatic confinement, you require a deep (what ever you definition of deep is) potential well. Dr ...

We know Lockheed's magnet struts are big trouble, rapid cusp plugging to reach high beta is essential, and recirculation then makes no sense. After that Lockheed becomes another version of Polywell... Again the use of the term of cusp plugging. I do not like the use of this term in this situation a...

In the Lockheed design there is no claims made of ion containment by a potential well. As such even high Beta cusps would leak ions excessively. This is why recirculation between cusps is an integral part of the design. Electron recirculation is one thing, imagine ion recirculation and strut heatin...

Surely now that Park has proven Grad's conjecture on cusp containment, Lockheed will put that knowledge to use. Recirculation should no longer be needed, and why wouldn't Lockheed join with EMC2 and push forward???? Makes no sense to me. Adequate high Beta containment applies only to electrons. In ...

"A working fusion reactor" is a very vague label and could mean almost anything. A substantial number of amateur fusioneers have built working fusion reactors. If some deuterium is fused with reasonable measurements to confirm it, you have reached this goal. Adding qualifies is what makes things mor...

Tension can be managed with robust connections between magnets, but I think interconnects between magnets is recognized as undesirable. Wall standoffs with associated power feeds, and cooling is most likely the best solution by far. Couplings inside the vacuum chamber are fine but each introduces an...

As an exercise in geometry, this may be interesting. But for a real reactor it is ,um, meaningless. Keep in mind that each magnet face is a separate assembly that has to have cooling plumbing, power leads, structural supports (against the powerful repulsion between all magnets, a robust and cooled v...

The rewards do not have to be an economical product to be valued. I am of the opinion, based on my layman knowledge, that ITER may be likely to achieve it's goals of net fusion power out greater than power in. That this is a success depends on your goals. The science knowledge and engineering advanc...

The lone wolf overturning established science does occur. Examples include the big bang, continental drift, etc. It is Extremely important though to remember that it was highly tested and consistent expiremental/ observation efforts with verifiable results that drove the advance. It is not the "lone...

This technology , if it pans out would be attractive. Having increased energy density versus weight or volume is attractive. If cost and safety is also improved, then the gains are compounded. The amount of improvement does seem inflated. Wikipedia mentions Li ion batteries with storage densities of...