DEMONSTRATION FUSION REACTOR (FUSOR)
I've finally gotten the purple plasma glow in my demo fusor!
I cannot resize or move images around so this post will stay ugly for a while [updates later] but there is a good reason: the pictures hosted here are linked to my (now successful) application for entry into the Plasma Club at fusor.net!
Here are most of the components of my demo fusor.
Shown above are:
Pyrex glass laboratory drain pipe "vee" mitered elbow fitting used as my vacuum chamber.
One opening is 3" inside diameter and the other is 2" inside diameter.
I bought it on eBay for $14.99 plus $11.99 shipping for a total of $26.98
Variac brand variable transformer for varying the ac input to the power supply.
Silicone (clear) covered high voltage wiring rated at around 6 times my voltage and amps.
Alumina Aluminum oxide ceramic rods with two 0.063" inner diameter holes.
Laboratory stand for assembly, but not actual use. Cast iron base.
Safety full face mask (probably the most important item of all).
Here is my fusor with pretty much everything shown for operation. The only thing not pictured is the red Variac transformer which acts as a dimmer switch for the AC electricity input.
This is my nicest stainless steel inner and outer grids. They got me purple plasma, but didn't operate quite as well as the thin copper.
A "manifold" free from my father. It's two ball valves and some pipes and a huge 3/4" hose barb that I jammed into the purple silicone rubber stopper.
Purple plasma! Electrons being stripped off creating positive ionization.
Yes, it looked this wild and purple in real life!
Full face shield that protects your face and neck, in addition to your precious eyes! These are less than $20 on Amazon with free Prime shipping. Plenty to choose from. No excuse not to use one!
My thinnest grid: I tried thin copper instead of stainless steel. The result was way better, but as you can see the spherical grid sort of melted into a blob.
Big things come from small beginnings.
Variac brand variable transformer for varying the ac input to the power supply.
This is the 5 amp 500VA version. SC-5M. My power source is 5000v at 18 milliamps, so 5000 x 0.018mA = 89 watts which is basically 89VA. The 5 amp Variac is obviously capable of handling the 18mA. On the faceplate of the Variac it states a maximum of 500VA which again is way more than my 89VA power supply needs. Amazon $81.24
Cenco 5000v AC output spectrum tube power supply. Cenco model #87208
Came with a 3 prong cord. No ground fault interrupter to cause problems. I tested it by making a Jacob's Ladder with it and it didn't explode. It came with 2 unattached wires that a little research showed were for an on/off foot switch. I just connected these wires to each other and tucked them inside the unit.
Antique Shop $4.
Silicone (clear) covered high voltage wiring rated at around 6 times my voltage and amps.
This wire is limp like a wet noodle, some people call it "noodle wire". This wire is capable of handling 44,000 Volts AC and 31,000 Volts DC. Way more than my 5000 Volts. It can also handle up to 11 Amps. Again, way more than my 0.018 Amps. Always check Volts & Amps! I bought 10 feet. McMaster-Carr 962T15 $20.80
Silicone Rubber Stopper. 2 13/64" for the 2" hole. Purple.
NASA has a free off gassing website showing which materials lose more weight after being subjected to a vacuum. Nitrile loses over 1% of its weight in a vacuum: meaning 1% of it flies out into the vacuum chamber and ruins your level of vacuum. Silicone only outgasses 0.31%, so it's way better! In a deep vacuum even the oils from a fingerprint outgas and mess with the vacuum levels. NASA outgas list:
https://outgassing.nasa.gov/cgi/uncgi/search/search.sh
McMaster-Carr 922K79 $5.34
https://outgassing.nasa.gov/cgi/uncgi/search/search.sh
McMaster-Carr 922K79 $5.34
Silicone Rubber Stopper. 3 35/64" for the 3" hole. Red.
McMaster-Carr 9277K71 $16.81
Stainless steel wire 302 steel. 35 feet (1/4lb). Bend and Stay. (0.051" diameter).
Used to make the inner and outer grids. This didn't work as well as some thin scrap copper I found, but didn't melt.
McMaster-Carr 8860K16 $6.51
Alumina Aluminum oxide ceramic rods with two 0.063" inner diameter holes.
It was 2 feet long and impossible to cut with a variety of cutting wheels. I eventually just clamped it in a vise and tapped it with a hammer to break pieces off.
Amazon $11.20
Laboratory stand for assembly, but not actual use. Cast iron base.
Amazon $14.67
Eisco 90mm Lab Clamp.
Super nice clamp that was the only one I found that could hold my huge vacuum chamber.
Amazon $14.20
A 3 CFM 22.5 micron Philadelphia brand vacuum pump.
It sprays out a fine smokey mist, but that mist doesn't seem oily and dissipates. A while later the pump starts leaking oil. This is all considered normal. The pump wasn't too loud either.
It came with slightly more than enough vacuum oil needed.
Harbor Freight with a 20% off coupon and shipping for $143.08
Valve manifold fitting consisting of two ball valves.
One valve seals the vacuum chamber, the other allows the vacuum pump be routed to open air seconds after it is shut off. Without this valve vacuum pumps would spit oil and condensation into the vacuum vessel. This happened once to me when I forget to let the pump up to air.
Free gift from my father!
Pipe Thread Compound with Teflon
Used by plumbers (and me) instead of Teflon pipe tape. Never use tape on vacuum fittings. This is a liquid paste made by PlumbShop #PS2434.
Local hardware store $1.98
Safety full face mask (probably the most important item of all).
Got it free from my father.
Not shown: a free mini desk fan to cool down the vacuum pump which got incredibly hot, misted and smoked and wept oil, but did the job! I bought some other components but didn't need them. I used a vise, wire cutters, hammer and drill press (to make a hole in the 2" rubber stopper). I also used the lab stand and clamp to hold the glass vessel while I assembled everything-it really helped.
So? What's a fusor? It is an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) device. This is a demonstration fusor; but if I added deuterium gas it would fuse hydrogen atoms together and produce neutrons and x-rays. With the gas it was just creating plasma from residual air molecules in the chamber. As a safer demo model it still produces: UV light; an implosion risk in the glass vacuum chamber; and a whole lot of opportunities to accidentally touch 5000 Volts.
This is a Farnsworth type fusor: developed by Philo T. Farnsworth. You know him right? He was the man (child) who invented television sets at age 14. Yeah, that guy!
I left the chamber under vacuum for 12 hours and when I returned it was still holding the vacuum and was able to create purple plasma!
So what is plasma? It's the fourth state of matter, besides gas, liquid and solid. When a gas is at very high temperature (or energy level) electrons start tearing away and leave behind positive ions. Every Volt an ion crosses imparts 11,604 kelvins. 5000V x 11,604 equals about 58 Million kelvin! While the 2" downward facing section of the glass chamber stayed perfectly room temperature, the 3" business end was hot to the touch. While this 58 Million kelvin is hotter than the surface of the sun, the density of the ions is low: thus I didn't melt the glass.
This is a working schematic of my fusor:
So? What's a fusor? It is an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) device. This is a demonstration fusor; but if I added deuterium gas it would fuse hydrogen atoms together and produce neutrons and x-rays. With the gas it was just creating plasma from residual air molecules in the chamber. As a safer demo model it still produces: UV light; an implosion risk in the glass vacuum chamber; and a whole lot of opportunities to accidentally touch 5000 Volts.
This is a Farnsworth type fusor: developed by Philo T. Farnsworth. You know him right? He was the man (child) who invented television sets at age 14. Yeah, that guy!
I left the chamber under vacuum for 12 hours and when I returned it was still holding the vacuum and was able to create purple plasma!
So what is plasma? It's the fourth state of matter, besides gas, liquid and solid. When a gas is at very high temperature (or energy level) electrons start tearing away and leave behind positive ions. Every Volt an ion crosses imparts 11,604 kelvins. 5000V x 11,604 equals about 58 Million kelvin! While the 2" downward facing section of the glass chamber stayed perfectly room temperature, the 3" business end was hot to the touch. While this 58 Million kelvin is hotter than the surface of the sun, the density of the ions is low: thus I didn't melt the glass.
This is a working schematic of my fusor:
Here is my fusor with pretty much everything shown for operation. The only thing not pictured is the red Variac transformer which acts as a dimmer switch for the AC electricity input.
Variac transformer showing the important info: it can handle 500VA (which is close enough to 500 Watts). And it can handle 5 Amps. My power supply was only 0.018A x 5000V = 89VA which is close to 89 Watts.
This is my nicest stainless steel inner and outer grids. They got me purple plasma, but didn't operate quite as well as the thin copper.
A "manifold" free from my father. It's two ball valves and some pipes and a huge 3/4" hose barb that I jammed into the purple silicone rubber stopper.
Purple plasma! Electrons being stripped off creating positive ionization.
Yes, it looked this wild and purple in real life!
Full face shield that protects your face and neck, in addition to your precious eyes! These are less than $20 on Amazon with free Prime shipping. Plenty to choose from. No excuse not to use one!
My thinnest grid: I tried thin copper instead of stainless steel. The result was way better, but as you can see the spherical grid sort of melted into a blob.
Big things come from small beginnings.
