HBrutusH

Oh snap, I just got physics-pwned.

Seriously though, how far along are we with the polywell? That one in the picture doesn't look too big (without the vacuum chamber). It seems to work along the same principal as the sun (fusion, duh.) but with elemental substitutions (and the sun makes its own magnetic field). Why not just go doc-oc style and make a mini star? Would the light elements mean it would have to be huge to begin fusing?

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jepzilla

It isn't very big, because it's a research prototype. :-)

The sun's magnetic field is generated by the movement of charged particles within it, although my understanding is it's not an essential part of the fusion reaction that occurs. The sun's fusion is driven by gravity- the sheer mass of the star is enough pressure to cause fusion at its core. You need to be about the same order of mass as the sun to get gravity fusion, so you can't make a 'mini-star' because we have no way to artificially create the gravity well needed. However, polywell functions in a similar way, except cleverly using an electrostatic potential well in place of a gravity well. The trick is balancing ion input (the ions are what undergo fusion) against magnetic containment to keep energy distribution within proper bounds. The ions are accelerated by the core, but they also tend to spread the core out and create variation in the core's energy distribution. Inject too quickly and the core can no longer accelerate new ions to high enough energy levels to undergo fusion.