alancj said:
A fusor, however, IS a reactor.
NO - a fusor is NOT a reactor!
If energy balance is the only reason a person can come up with to disqualify it as a nuclear reactor then you have also disqualified all the experimental fusion reactors ever built to date.
Actually, I don't consider the experimental magnetic fusion devices "reactors" either.
Apparently, a reactor only "deserves" to be called one if real live Physicists work on it, spending billions of dollars building a big giant energy sink. It would be silly to expect a desktop device to produce net energy, and it is completely irrelevant to the discussion. Nobody ever said they wanted to produce net energy or that a fusor does.
I don't expect a desktop device to fly and transport people either - but that doesn't
mean that it is OK to call some desktop device an "airliner".
I don't expect a fusor to produce net energy - so I don't expect to be able to call
it a "reactor" - something it definitely is NOT.
The list I mentioned wasn't exhaustive... but those people BUILT the device that produced nuclear fusion. They didn't just turn on a device that someone else built.
That's also what I'm talking about - people building things. You don't learn much in
a nuclear lab just by turning on a device.
Just because you don't know somebody isn't a reason to say that it is impossible or absurd to build a reactor, when in fact it is not (the fusor being the only example I know of). Many people have done it safely with very little money (a few thousand dollars) and if someone has their heart set on it they can do it.
Don't you understand - it is IRRESPONSIBLE for a professional in a field that could hold
dangers to suggest to someone that they don't know and don't supervise to encourage
them to undertake a project that has inherent dangers such as radiation and high voltage.
and discourage people from doing things that you have never done yourself just because you think it is dangerous.
Just you hold it right there Alan! You don't know me - you don't know what I have done.
Don't cop this attitude that I'm saying this because I can't do it! For your information,
I'm part of the only design teams that have gotten NET thermonuclear energy production.
I've designed experiments MUCH more complex than a fusor.
So where do you get the AUDACITY and UNMITiGATED GALL to suggest that it's
because I haven't done something myself?
IMO there are far too many people on the internet whose only response to inquisitive minds is "YOU"LL KILL YOURSELF!"
The Internet is NOT the place for a young student to get advice and guidance on this
matter. In case you don't know; there's no QUALITY CONTROL on the Internet.
A student that is interested in this type of project needs to check out their local laws,
and get the guidance of a TEACHER! If a local high school teacher isn't qualified; then
perhaps a professor at a University - but for Heaven's sake NOT the Internet
I would expect that a student that has the capability to undertake such a project; would
also have the ambition to research this in the library, with local officials, with teachers,
with professionals in the area that can give them the type of guidance that is required.
Unfortunately there ARE too many cases of young scientists injuring themselves because
they didn't have the proper supervision.
As a professional, as an employee of the University of California; I'm bound by certain
ethics, and moral codes that you are evidently unaware of.
Suppose I encourage somebody, and they injure themselves. They could file a lawsuit
against the University of California, saying "Your employee who is a professional
physicist encouraged this young impressionable student to undertake this dangerous
project [ a project he knew to be dangerous because he is a professional ] and he had
no way of supervising the potentially dangerous activities of this young student".
Therefore, I am FORBIDDEN from this type of encouragement!
If you don't like it - take it up with the LAWYERS! However, the legal matters
are secondary - what is REALLY important is this student's SAFETY.
Although this type of project can certainly be done safely; I can't encourage it
unless I know the student has the proper support to carry it off safely.
However, until this young student has the degree of "hands-on" supervision that is
required for a project dealing with radiation and high-voltage; I would have to discourage
them from undertaking such a project unless it can be done PROPERLY with the
right supervision.
Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist