A group doing focus fusion is raising money on Indiegogo [0]. Looks like they're well along to their $200k goal. They're trying for an aneutronic hydrogen-boron reaction.
I think the Polywell people should try crowdfunding too. I don't have a clear sense of which is more likely to succeed, though focus seems farther along in development.
The next step for EMC2 is likely a Proton Boron11 machine. they have previously set a record for plasma density that exceeds that of Tokamaks. EMC2 could even use WB-8 with new e-guns and fuel injectors to make P-B11 runs. Lerner at Focus is still far from an actual P-B11 reactor.
I've been following the wiffleball for a while too. It seems to have the best chance of getting out of the woods and into commercial production. They just need a little more funding!
Flagged. This is a terrible source -- other articles write credulously about blatant crackpottery, i.e. cold fusion, "hydrinos". I'm not at all dismissing Polywell fusion; but this article isn't written by people who can credibly exposit it.
I don't necessarily disagree, although I don't find anything objectionable about this article, and I'm not sure that flagging based on source is a good policy. I considered submitting the paper directly, but thought it didn't offer enough context. Then I searched for media coverage, and this was the best of the public oriented articles I found.
Thank you nkurz, I was in a hurry and working by memory, & I agree the discussion at Talk Polywell is generally of high quality, much of it above my pay grade.
"I don't find anything objectionable about this article, and I'm not sure that flagging based on source is a good policy.'
I think it's generically the right policy for just that reason: if an article were objectionable, I might not realize it, because I'm not knowledgeable about the subject!
And there is a fairly good Daily Kos article by Roger Fox:
Wow that looks terrible. The critic they're ridiculing, Todd Rider, wrote his PhD thesis at MIT on the subject he's talking about. And they're trying to ad-hominem him as someone "not in the field". Okay..
Please look up Tom Ligon, it's essential to understanding the following quote:
> Tom Ligon:
>
> Todd Rider's objections were not just for the Polywell, but for hot
> fusion generally. The heart of his objections are essentially that
> everything will thermalize and spew bremsstrahlung radiation.
> Dr. Bussard could never get thru to him and quit trying. If Rider
> is right, no fusion project will ever work.
>
> The continued sincere efforts my multiple research efforts suggest
> that a lot of good people in the field disagree.
>
> And Rider is NOT in the field. Nor should he be. He's a clever enough
> person and is making good contributions in his chosen field. Good
> thing his chosen field is NOT fusion, since it would be a real downer
> to spend a career working on something you think is folly.
Sounds, you are correct. Knowing who Tom Ligon is, is essential. BTW Riders objections are based on an IEC wire gridded machine (fusor)that has a narrow or spiked potential well, Polywell has a broad or table top potential well as seen on a chart, a very different environment that is less likely to create brem, in addition the ratio of Proton to Boron11 envisioned is not what Rider described. And the EMC2 paper includes Brem measurements which hints at good things.
I think the Polywell people should try crowdfunding too. I don't have a clear sense of which is more likely to succeed, though focus seems farther along in development.
[0] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/focus-fusion-empowerthewo...