criticality thru Lawson conditions

[AntonioLao]

In 1957, John D. Lawson, a physicist at Harwell, England set 3 necessary conditioning factors in plasma confinement for fusible nuclei of hydrogen: (1) critical temperature (2) jail time (3) number of inmates or nuclei density. All the pilot facilities found in Japan, Europe, Soviet Union, and the United States can satisfy one of these factors but none of the experimental machines can meet all 3 conditions at one particular operational setting. In other words, nobody has yet achieved successful fusion.

The 1st is based on thermodynamics not quantum mechanics. The 2nd is based on the notion that jail time is a coercive punishment that bad becomes good is just a matter of time. The 3rd is based on the assumption that a bunch of bad seeds packed densely together is capable of changing 2 spoiled seeds into 1 good sprouting seed.

[harmonygirl]

Antonio, is there some scientific rationale for the last 2 premises? They are not only counter-intuitive in a social sense, but seem to conclude against practical experience as well. They seem to be saying 2 wrongs make a right, am I oversimplifying? Also, the underlying theme of moral judgement is troubling, particularly if this is, indeed, a scientific application.

[baudrunner]

The only way that I can see fusion reactions being successfully sustained is when enough mass is gathered in one place to create the density necessary to attain those high temperatures such that they are self-inducing. Then, and only then can we have a sustained reaction, and what is required is to accumulate the kind of mass that exists in the sun where this is currently going on, and even that will burn itself out over time. It is the holy grail, an interesting experiment but fruitless.

Anti-matter power generators allude to some promise. If every hydrogen atom contained an anti-proton, then if we could annihilate the ordinary proton with an anti-proton from outside we could collect the anti-proton from the ordinary hydrogen atom and use that to annihilate another ordinary proton thereby collecting another anti-proton and by continuing the cycle we could derive power from the electrons that we'd collect to generate electricity. If we had enough anti-protons to start the reactions they could be sulf-sustaining and we'd only need to feed the reaction more hydrogen. All of this would work if there were actually an anti-proton in every hydrogen atom. I think there might be.

[mkirkpatrick]

Maybe Antonio,ciitically thru lawson conditions,could be enhanced or even
surpassed,if we were to re-discover the ancient science of Alchemy,a science
that has been around for thousands of years.A Science that knew how to fuse
elements together,long before the Roman army marched through Europe?
If we want fusion,and I certainly do,and so I think do you Antonio,then we
must,and science must,once again embrace the ancient art of Alchemy???


kindest regards michael.

[AntonioLao]

am I oversimplifying?

No. You are not. Current method of achieving fusion used force to get two nuclei to come close together against their will where they want to be as far from each other as possible by the repulsive energy barrier.

If we had enough anti-protons

I could hear the laughters from the anti-world for them to want to bargain into releasing their secret agents of anti-protons.

and science must,once again embrace the ancient art of Alchemy???

If the process is by force then the alchemist's heat is not hot enough.