###Background
Producing mass-scale clean energy is a huge open problem.
Coal and oil deliver affordable energy at a global scale, but with pollution and expensive externalities. Nuclear fission can produce at scale, but with the side effect of nuclear waste and Fukushima disasters.
Unlike traditional nuclear fission, fusion cannot cause a nuclear disaster. The fuel is non radio-active. The bi-product is inert helium (if the reactor is using proton boron11 fuel). Mankind has yet to build a fusion reactor that produces more energy than it consumes. This threshold is called break-even. Although we achieved fusion in the 50s, we are a long way from making net energy. If we can reach break-even, nuclear fusion would provide inexpensive energy which is both clean and safe. Current approaches toward break-even fusion include the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which has cost $15B over 6 years, and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) which has cost $4.5B over 11 years.
Starting in 1983, the American physicist Robert Bussard invented a new approach to nuclear fusion dubbed "Polywell".
Before Bussard died in 2007, he went public with the Polywell at a Google tech talk, following 24 years of secret research with the US Navy. The Navy continues to fund Bussard's team to continue Polywell research, once again in secret.
Polywell appears to be a viable approach to break-even fusion. Bussard estimated a break-even Polywell would cost $200MM, comparable to a modern coal generating station. This is two orders of magnitude less expensive than ITER at $15B.
For now the Polywell is an unproven but promising technology. My goal is to validate the Polywell; to build a break-even Polywell. If the Polywell works, it heralds a new era. If the Polywell fails, it can be ruled out and effort focused elsewhere. The patent for Polywell is expired so the field is wide open.
When I saw Bussard's talk "Should Google Go Nuclear" in 2008. I became fascinated with the Polywell. It made sense to me. Looking at pictures of Bussard's lab showed their device would fit in a garage. I could imagine building it. Realizing that you can 3D print metal these days, I started toying with 3D models of the core. I was able to make a model. I started a blog and posted about the model.
Then it hit me: I had to build this machine. I knew I could. Knowing I could build it made it necessary to build it. How could I not?
As a web entrepreneur I'd had no business building a fusion reactor. So I was really starting at the beginning. Electrical engineering, physics, vacuum technology, actually building anything... everything was new. And I loved it; it was pure joy. I had to keep going.
Thus began Prometheus Fusion Perfection, the open source Polywell Fusion Reactor. I've been at it for three years now.
I am the first amateur ever to build and operate a Polywell Fusion Reactor. I've achieved nuclear fusion with a Fusor, the inspiration for the Polywell (fusor.net maintains the official list of amateurs who have achieved fusion). The project has received international press.
With the Polywell I've built, I see strong evidence of potential well formation... the precursor to fusion. The potential well is a cloud of electrons that attracts the fuel, causing it to fuse.
I want to take this project as far as possible with whatever funding I can secure. Although this project will ultimately require more than $300K, this amount will provide for 3 years of invaluable research.
###Project Aims
The goal of this project is to validate the Polywell, starting with small scale research and leading up to a break-even fusion reactor.
Bussard stated that computer modeling of the Polywell is prohibitive due to the complexity of the plasma. The only way to test the Polywell with certainty is to build it. The big challenge building the Polywell is engineering. Mechanical, thermal, and electrical engineering. It is an enormous challenge... but not impossible.
In 2009 Joe Khachan, a scientist at University of Sydney, built a small copper coil Polywell. Since then my near term goal has been to replicate and extend this experiment I dubbed the Sydney Experiment.
To date I have reproduced the Sydney experiment's main findings. I'm currently refining the experiment and pushing into new extensions of the experiment. I am an amateur on the verge of breaking new ground in nuclear fusion.
After the Sydney experiment, the major goal is to build the world's first superconducting Bussard reactor. So far the Polywell has only been built with copper-coil electromagnets. The magnets confine the electron cloud which attracts the fuel. These magnets require tremendous current which quickly heats up the coils and wastes energy. Copper coil magnets can only run for 20 milliseconds or they will burn up!
Superconducting magnets are superior to copper coil magnets because they can conduct electricity without resistance, which allows them to run indefinitely. Superconducting magnets are most commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
With a superconducting Polywell, I can test the machine for days instead of milliseconds. Any practical Polywell must use superconducting magnets, so tackling this engineering challenge is intrinsically valuable. I have been working towards a superconducting Polywell all along. I have acquired high temperature YBCO superconducting tape and the liquid nitrogen equipment necessary to use it. I have built a superconducting electromagnet and even put the magnet into a persistent mode using a DIY persistent switch. Building a superconducting Polywell would be a world's first in fusion research. I'm gunning for that distinction.
After completing a superconducting Polywell, the goal is refining the diagnostic instrumentation with an emphasis on fast neutron detection and plasma diagnostics.
The next phase of the project is to verify Bussard's claims about scaling. Bussard stated that the efficiency of the Polywell increases with size until you reach break-even at 3 meters in diameter for the core. The success of the Polywell hinges on validity of this scaling rule.
The long range goal is to build increasingly larger Polywell machines until I reach break-even. This phase of the project will be most capital intensive and is beyond the scope of Breakout funding.
###Strategy and Methodology
The key to this project is open source science. I document the everyday process of building and testing a nuclear fusion reactor. All source code, schematics, and documents are available on github.
The Prometheus blog has over 400 readers per day. Physicists, engineers, and nerds follow from all over the world. When I encounter a problem I blog it. Within minutes I receive suggested solutions. Often, one of these suggestions actually works.
I have mastered the art of research on a budget. I use ebay to find cheap equipment. I leverage open source code, DIY fabrication and tool sharing. For example I recently needed an electron gun for the Sydney experiment. Commercial electrons guns cost over $10K, but I was able to convert an oscilloscope CRT from 1945 into an electron gun. DIY for the win.
Generally I pick near term goals which are ambitious but achievable. I work from least expensive to most expensive to learn the most per dollar spent. To date I've spent about $50K on Prometheus.
I am exploiting new 3D printing technology to make parts that are impossible to make any other way. I use a low cost MakerBot to print test parts and fixtures.
Another example of leveraging the community is my successful Kickstarter in 2010.
###Outcomes and Potential Impact of the Work
Achieving break even fusion would be a historical event 60+ years in the making. It would mark the beginning of a new era for mankind.
The Polywell could lower the cost of electricity, eliminate pollution from coal and oil. This would remove oil as an international bargaining chip.
In 2010, the world produced 22 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.
In 2008, total worldwide energy consumption was 474 exajoules. This is equivalent to an average energy consumption rate of 15 terawatts.
Bussard estimated the Polywell could be developed into a $100B/year business.
###Timeline and Milestones
1930s Philo Farnsworth invents the television.
1960s Philo Farnsworth invents the Fusor, a working fusion reactor.
1983 Inspired by the Fusor, Robert Bussard begins work on his Polywell.
2000 Richard Hull begins the amateur fusion movement.
2006 Bussard goes public with the Polywell "Should Google Go Nuclear?".
2008 I learn about the Polywell from an article on BoingBoing.
2008 Beginning of Prometheus Fusion Perfection.
2009 I achieve nuclear fusion with a Fusor.
2010 The project receives international press attention.
2010 I put a superconducting magnet into a persistent state.
2011 I build and operate the world's first amateur Polywell.
2011 I see evidence of potential well formation.
2012 Upgrade neutron detectors. Fast neutrons are the primary evidence of fusion.
2012 Complete Sydney experiment.
2012 Run experiment on the quality of magnetic insulation of the magrid. For the Polywell to run efficiently, the magnets must insulate the metal core from electrical currents from the plasma.
2012 Determine if 3D printed bronze can be welded to form an airtight container. If possible, 3D printed metal and ceramics can produce parts that are impossible with traditional means. I can integrate cooling channels into the core for example.
2012 Develop early prototypes of superconducting Polywell. There are still many fabrication and engineering challenging ahead for a small superconducting Polywell.
2012 Work out issues with kinking in the superconducting coil. The path of the coil's wire cannot take sharp turn without breaking the superconducting layer. This makes it challenging to pack the wire into the coil formers.
2012 Test out ceramic cloth for thermal insulation. The Superconducting cable must withstand the heat of welding as well as the heat of plasma.
2012 Build world's first superconducting Polywell.
2012 Explore cold head cryogenics as an alternative to liquid nitrogen.
2012 Refine Langmuir probe plasma diagnostics.I use a Langmuir probe to measure the floating potential of the Polywell.
2013 Investigate laser plasma diagnostics.
2013 Begin pre-production on 60 centimeter Polywell for scaling test. The 60cm Polywell will be an order of magnitude larger than the Polywell I have already built. This will show if fusion efficiency scales with size as Bussard's research indicates.
2013 Do mechanical engineering for 60cm Polywell. The larger magnets produce greater mechanical stress.
2013 Do thermal finite element analysis on candidate reactor designs. It will be a challenge to keep the coils cryogenic when the exterior of the magrid is at plasma temperatures.
2013 Design plumbing to remove heat from the magrid.
2014 Purchase larger vacuum chamber.
2014 Build a single 60cm coil and test superconducting magnetic quench. When a superconducting magnet transitions to a non superconducting state it releases a lot of energy. The coils must accommodate this quenching.
2014 Production and testing of 60cm superconducting Polywell.
2014 Confirm or disprove Bussard's stated scaling law for the Polywell.