Focus Fusion and X-scan and the Company behind them
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) is the company that is trying to develop focus fusion
http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/
Our lead project is the development of a dense plasma focus (DPF) fusion reactor, using proton-boron
(pB11) fuel, an approach we call "focus fusion". This work, which was partially funded by NASAs Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, is aimed at the producing an extremely economical, compact, environmentally
safe and essentially inexhaustible source of energy that could be fifty to a hundred times cheaper than
existing sources. It has already achieved major experimental milestones, including the achievement of
plasma confinement at energies equivalent to two billion degrees, high enough to fuse hydrogen and
boron.
From on-line:
LPP is developing a portable, economical, extremely intense hard X-ray source using a dense plasma
focus (DPF). DPF is the same core technology that is to be used for focus fusion.
Such a source, transportable by truck, will allow economical non-destructive inspection of the nation’s
critical infrastructure, leading to savings in repair costs of at least five billion dollars annually.
A source with the power, photon energy and adjustability developed in this project will allow the use
of Compton scattering, in which the X-rays are scattered off the material being probed and return to a
detector on the same side of the object as the source. Compton scattering requires far higher X-ray
power than does direct X-ray scanning, in which the detector is on the opposite side of the structure
from the source, but has the great advantage that scanning can be done from one side. Such one-side
scanning will greatly reduce the cost and time of inspections, making possible the timely preventive
maintenance of infrastructure such as bridges, roads and buildings.
The X-ray source technology is being developed as a "spin-off" of our medium-term research into the
use of the DPF as a source for fusion energy. Essentially the same technology can produce both useful
energy and extremely intense x-ray pulses.
Our market projections, based on discussions with likely final customers, mainly state departments of
transportation, indicate that our X-ray source integrated into an inspection system can yield sales of
$20 million a year and profits of at least $3 million a year within two or three years of introduction
into the market. We anticipate that, with the help of likely government funding, we will be able to
begin marketing this device in three to four years.
LPP's research shows that, with our innovative approaches, a DPF can serve as an x-ray source with
the capabilities required. It will be able to deliver a pulse of 100J of x-ray energy of 300keV photons in
a pulse of 10 ns, a power output 30,000 times higher than existing linac sources.
To achieve our ambitious goals, LPP will employ five innovations, all of which have either been
verified in practice, or are supported by extensive theoretical calculations. These are: (1) An overall
quantitative model of DPF functioning that allows firm predictions of performance; (2) the use of the
strong magnetic field effect to achieve easy adjustability of electron temperature; (3) a specific model
of the critical plasmoid generation (collapse) phase of DPF operation which shows the approach to
achieving high efficiency of energy transfer into the plasmoid that emits the x-rays; (4) a multi-scale
"snapshot" method of simulating the collapse phase from scales of centimeters to microns and (5) a
method of plasma diagnosis that eliminates previous confusion of plasma and electron beam emissions.
LPP engineering analysis indicates that 5 MW focus fusion reactors could be produced for about
$300,000 apiece. This is less than one-tenth of the cost of conventional electricity generation units of
any style or fuel design. This means that once the prototype is successfully developed within five
years, focus fusion generators will be the preferred technology for new electrical distributed
generation.
More powerful units can be designed by accelerating the pulse repetition rate, although there are
limitations due to the amount of waste heat that can be removed from such a small device. It is likely
that units larger than 20MW will be formed by simply stacking smaller units together, with
approximately the same cost per kW of generated power.
It may sound too good to be true, but the technology, called focus fusion, is based on real physics
experiments. Focus fusion is initiated when a pulse of electricity is discharged through a hydrogen-
boron gas across two nesting cylindrical electrodes, transforming the gas into a thin sheath of hot,
electrically conducting plasma. This sheath travels to the end of the inner electrode, where the
magnetic fields produced by the currents pinch and twist the plasma into a tiny, dense ball. As the
magnetic fields start to decay, they cause a beam of electrons to flow in one direction and a beam of
positive ions (atoms that have lost electrons) to flow in the opposite direction. The electron beam heats
the plasma ball, igniting fusion reactions between the hydrogen and boron; these reactions pump more
heat and charged particles into the plasma. The energy in the ion beam can be directly converted to
electricity—no need for conventional turbines and generators. Part of this electricity powers the next
pulse, and the rest is net output.
A focus fusion reactor could be built for just $300,000, says Lerner, president of Lawrenceville Plasma
Physics in New Jersey. But huge technical hurdles remain. These include increasing the density of the
plasma so the fusion reaction will be more intense. (Conventional fusion experiments do not come
close to the temperatures and densities needed for efficient hydrogen-boron fusion.) Still, the payoff
could be huge: While mainstream fusion research programs are still decades from fruition, Lerner
claims he requires just $750,000 in funding and two years of work to prove his process generates more
energy than it consumes. “The next experiment is aimed at achieving higher density, higher magnetic
field, and higher efficiency,” he says. “We believe it will succeed.”
From the focus fusion FAQ:
It is like a particle accelerator run in reverse. Such an electrical transformation can be highly efficient,
probably around 80-90%. What is most important is that it is exceedingly cheap and compact. The
whole apparatus of steam turbine and electrical generator are eliminated. A 20MW focus fusion reactor
may cost around $500,000 and produce electricity for 1/20th of a cent per kWh. This is a hundred times
less than current electric costs. Fuel costs will be negligible because a 20MW plant will require only
twenty pounds of fuel a year.
UPDATE: [emails from a reader who has been following Focus fusion closely]
the power would be at about 0.2¢/kwh, not 1/20¢ (0.05¢). The generators would be from 5-20MW,
depending on pulse rate (330 - 1320/sec.) The energy "profit" is actually from harvesting as current (via
thousands of foil layers in the containment shell) the ~40% of output which occurs as X-rays. The alpha-
beam pulse goes back into the capacitor bank to fire the next "shot", and the electron beam reheats the
plasma.
From the multi-slide story board of how focus fusion works
1. The plasma sheet, carrying the current, is formed between the anode and cathode. It moves down
the anode due to the interaction of the current and its magnetic field.
2. The plasma sheet bends inwards to the hole in the anode.
Plasma filaments are formed in counter rotating pairs.
3. The plasma sheet and filaments contract towards the center. The focus forms.
The filament pairs merge like a zipper. Energy is transferred from the outside to the central region
4. The plasma sheet and filaments continue contracting into the center
5. A rotating plasma vortex is formed in the center, carrying all the current
6. In the central vortex the filaments have formed one single rotating filament.
7. The filament forms a tight plasma helix
8. the helix starts to kink
9. And it becomes unstable and ...
Next
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Lawrenceville Plasma Physics (LPP) is the company that is trying to develop focus fusion
http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/
Our lead project is the development of a dense plasma focus (DPF) fusion reactor, using proton-boron
(pB11) fuel, an approach we call "focus fusion". This work, which was partially funded by NASAs Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, is aimed at the producing an extremely economical, compact, environmentally
safe and essentially inexhaustible source of energy that could be fifty to a hundred times cheaper than
existing sources. It has already achieved major experimental milestones, including the achievement of
plasma confinement at energies equivalent to two billion degrees, high enough to fuse hydrogen and
boron.
From on-line:
LPP is developing a portable, economical, extremely intense hard X-ray source using a dense plasma
focus (DPF). DPF is the same core technology that is to be used for focus fusion.
Such a source, transportable by truck, will allow economical non-destructive inspection of the nation’s
critical infrastructure, leading to savings in repair costs of at least five billion dollars annually.
A source with the power, photon energy and adjustability developed in this project will allow the use
of Compton scattering, in which the X-rays are scattered off the material being probed and return to a
detector on the same side of the object as the source. Compton scattering requires far higher X-ray
power than does direct X-ray scanning, in which the detector is on the opposite side of the structure
from the source, but has the great advantage that scanning can be done from one side. Such one-side
scanning will greatly reduce the cost and time of inspections, making possible the timely preventive
maintenance of infrastructure such as bridges, roads and buildings.
The X-ray source technology is being developed as a "spin-off" of our medium-term research into the
use of the DPF as a source for fusion energy. Essentially the same technology can produce both useful
energy and extremely intense x-ray pulses.
Our market projections, based on discussions with likely final customers, mainly state departments of
transportation, indicate that our X-ray source integrated into an inspection system can yield sales of
$20 million a year and profits of at least $3 million a year within two or three years of introduction
into the market. We anticipate that, with the help of likely government funding, we will be able to
begin marketing this device in three to four years.
LPP's research shows that, with our innovative approaches, a DPF can serve as an x-ray source with
the capabilities required. It will be able to deliver a pulse of 100J of x-ray energy of 300keV photons in
a pulse of 10 ns, a power output 30,000 times higher than existing linac sources.
To achieve our ambitious goals, LPP will employ five innovations, all of which have either been
verified in practice, or are supported by extensive theoretical calculations. These are: (1) An overall
quantitative model of DPF functioning that allows firm predictions of performance; (2) the use of the
strong magnetic field effect to achieve easy adjustability of electron temperature; (3) a specific model
of the critical plasmoid generation (collapse) phase of DPF operation which shows the approach to
achieving high efficiency of energy transfer into the plasmoid that emits the x-rays; (4) a multi-scale
"snapshot" method of simulating the collapse phase from scales of centimeters to microns and (5) a
method of plasma diagnosis that eliminates previous confusion of plasma and electron beam emissions.
LPP engineering analysis indicates that 5 MW focus fusion reactors could be produced for about
$300,000 apiece. This is less than one-tenth of the cost of conventional electricity generation units of
any style or fuel design. This means that once the prototype is successfully developed within five
years, focus fusion generators will be the preferred technology for new electrical distributed
generation.
More powerful units can be designed by accelerating the pulse repetition rate, although there are
limitations due to the amount of waste heat that can be removed from such a small device. It is likely
that units larger than 20MW will be formed by simply stacking smaller units together, with
approximately the same cost per kW of generated power.
It may sound too good to be true, but the technology, called focus fusion, is based on real physics
experiments. Focus fusion is initiated when a pulse of electricity is discharged through a hydrogen-
boron gas across two nesting cylindrical electrodes, transforming the gas into a thin sheath of hot,
electrically conducting plasma. This sheath travels to the end of the inner electrode, where the
magnetic fields produced by the currents pinch and twist the plasma into a tiny, dense ball. As the
magnetic fields start to decay, they cause a beam of electrons to flow in one direction and a beam of
positive ions (atoms that have lost electrons) to flow in the opposite direction. The electron beam heats
the plasma ball, igniting fusion reactions between the hydrogen and boron; these reactions pump more
heat and charged particles into the plasma. The energy in the ion beam can be directly converted to
electricity—no need for conventional turbines and generators. Part of this electricity powers the next
pulse, and the rest is net output.
A focus fusion reactor could be built for just $300,000, says Lerner, president of Lawrenceville Plasma
Physics in New Jersey. But huge technical hurdles remain. These include increasing the density of the
plasma so the fusion reaction will be more intense. (Conventional fusion experiments do not come
close to the temperatures and densities needed for efficient hydrogen-boron fusion.) Still, the payoff
could be huge: While mainstream fusion research programs are still decades from fruition, Lerner
claims he requires just $750,000 in funding and two years of work to prove his process generates more
energy than it consumes. “The next experiment is aimed at achieving higher density, higher magnetic
field, and higher efficiency,” he says. “We believe it will succeed.”
From the focus fusion FAQ:
It is like a particle accelerator run in reverse. Such an electrical transformation can be highly efficient,
probably around 80-90%. What is most important is that it is exceedingly cheap and compact. The
whole apparatus of steam turbine and electrical generator are eliminated. A 20MW focus fusion reactor
may cost around $500,000 and produce electricity for 1/20th of a cent per kWh. This is a hundred times
less than current electric costs. Fuel costs will be negligible because a 20MW plant will require only
twenty pounds of fuel a year.
UPDATE: [emails from a reader who has been following Focus fusion closely]
the power would be at about 0.2¢/kwh, not 1/20¢ (0.05¢). The generators would be from 5-20MW,
depending on pulse rate (330 - 1320/sec.) The energy "profit" is actually from harvesting as current (via
thousands of foil layers in the containment shell) the ~40% of output which occurs as X-rays. The alpha-
beam pulse goes back into the capacitor bank to fire the next "shot", and the electron beam reheats the
plasma.
From the multi-slide story board of how focus fusion works
1. The plasma sheet, carrying the current, is formed between the anode and cathode. It moves down
the anode due to the interaction of the current and its magnetic field.
2. The plasma sheet bends inwards to the hole in the anode.
Plasma filaments are formed in counter rotating pairs.
3. The plasma sheet and filaments contract towards the center. The focus forms.
The filament pairs merge like a zipper. Energy is transferred from the outside to the central region
4. The plasma sheet and filaments continue contracting into the center
5. A rotating plasma vortex is formed in the center, carrying all the current
6. In the central vortex the filaments have formed one single rotating filament.
7. The filament forms a tight plasma helix
8. the helix starts to kink
9. And it becomes unstable and ...
Next
Options Index
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