Electron behavior

Discuss the technical details of an "open source" community-driven design of a polywell reactor.

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kunkmiester
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Electron behavior

Post by kunkmiester »

It occurred to me today in chemistry class that the core of a polywell would be much like an atom. While you don't have a positive charge in the middle, you have the magnetic fields forcing them together. At the same time, the charge of the particles is pushing them apart.

Would a model predicting the location of an electron resemble atomic models, or would it fall apart macroscopically or for other reasons?
Evil is evil, no matter how small

D Tibbets
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Re: Electron behavior

Post by D Tibbets »

kunkmiester wrote:It occurred to me today in chemistry class that the core of a polywell would be much like an atom. While you don't have a positive charge in the middle, you have the magnetic fields forcing them together. At the same time, the charge of the particles is pushing them apart.

Would a model predicting the location of an electron resemble atomic models, or would it fall apart macroscopically or for other reasons?
If quantum mechanics are ignored and some signs are reversed there might be some similarities. But, the magnetic field serves as an elastic barrier that confines the electrons to a given volume. It does not directly push the electrons towards the center. That effect is provided by the initial kinetic energy of the electrons and the repetetice bouncing off of the 'hard magnetic surface'. The lowest energy state where the electrons have lost most of thier radial motion would result in the electrons clustering in a shell at the magnetic border. With an atomic model this more distant cloud of electrons would be equavalent to the lowest energy S orbital of an electron in an atom ( the opposite distribution). In some ways higher orbitals like P orbitals might provide a more usefull comparison as they are confined to noncircular orbits. I do not know if there is a difference in speed of the electrons in a P orbital ( fast near the nucleus and slower near the distant edge, or if it is constant through some strange wavelike property.

Assumeing the electrons are accumulating near the magnetic border, and that the positive ions are still experiancing some potential well effect, then there could be a virtual anode near the center. This would tend to pull the electrons inward to a degree and this would decrease the radius at where most of these thermalized and circularized electros spend most of their time. This wouldn't change the final thermalized distribution of the charged particles, but in a dynamic system where radial energy (electrons) are constantly being added, and especially if the ions do undergo some annealing I could see this as delaying the thermalization process. The young (new or recirculated electrons have a high radial velocity componant and this forms the elliptical potential well that pulls in ions in a radial direction. As the surviving electrons become mor circular in their orbits due to mutual repulsions and scattering, the ions which may maintain their radial paths longer due to annealing, will produce a more significant central virtual electrode which will pull the electrons so that the ellectrons maintain at least modest elliptical orits for a longer period of time. This give and take could slow thermalization, perhaps with significantly less input energy needed.

Dan Tibbets
To error is human... and I'm very human.

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