There has been some good news, and some bad news in the controlled fusion community recently. The good news is that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has recently produced a burning plasma. It succeede...There has been some good news, and some bad news in the controlled fusion community recently. The good news is that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has recently produced a burning plasma. It succeeded on several of its shots where ~1.5 - 2 megajoules from its laser (National Ignition Facility, or NIF) has generated ~1.3 - 3 megajoules of fusion products. The highest ratio of fusion energy to laser energy it achieved, defined as its Q, was 1.5 at the time of this writing. While LLNL is sponsored by nuclear stockpile stewardship, this author sees a likely path from their result to fusion for energy for the world, a path using a very different laser and a very different target configuration. The bad news is that the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) has continued to stumble on more and more delays and cost overruns, as its capital cost has mushroomed from ~$5 billion to ~ $25 B. This paper argues that the American fusion effort, for energy for the civilian economy, should switch its emphasis not only from magnetic fusion to inertial fusion but should also take much more seriously fusion breeding. Over the next few decades, the world might well be setting up more and more thermal nuclear reactors, and these might need fuel which only fusion breeders can supply. In other words, fusion should begin to color outside the lines.展开更多
Study Objective: The purpose of the study is to present independent laboratory testing for a novel technology in air and on surfaces. Since 2020, public health goals have focused on improving indoor air quality. This ...Study Objective: The purpose of the study is to present independent laboratory testing for a novel technology in air and on surfaces. Since 2020, public health goals have focused on improving indoor air quality. This includes protection from airborne pathogens, such as tuberculosis, RSV, SARS-CoV-2, common cold or influenza viruses, measles, and others. Engineering controls are highly effective at reducing hazardous pathogens found in indoor air and from recontamination of surfaces. This occurs from a continuous cycle of settling of small, sustained airborne pathogens, which may become dehumidified, becoming airborne again, carried by room air currents around indoor spaces, then repeating the cycle. Methods: The novel technology utilizes a catalytic process to produce safe levels of hydrogen peroxide gas that are effective in reducing pathogens in the air and on surfaces. Air testing was performed with the MS2 bacteriophage, the test organism for ASHRAE standard 241, and methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Surface testing was performed with SARS-COV-2 (Coronavirus COVID-19) and H1N1 (Influenza). Typical ventilation and filtration does not effectively remove disbursed pathogens from the entire facility, due to inconsistent air circulation and surface deposits of pathogens. Results: MS2 was reduced by 99.9%;MRSA was reduced by 99.9%;SARS-CoV-2 was reduced by 99.9%;H1N1 was reduced by 99.9%. Conclusion: This novel catalytic converter reduces a variety of pathogens in the air (99%) and on surfaces (99%), by actively disinfecting with the introduction of gaseous hydrogen peroxide. This active disinfection provides a strong solution for protecting the entire facility and its occupants.展开更多
We consider the problem of inducing withdrawal reflex on a test subject by exposing the subject’s skin to an electromagnetic beam. Heat-sensitive nociceptors in the skin are activated wherever the temperature is abov...We consider the problem of inducing withdrawal reflex on a test subject by exposing the subject’s skin to an electromagnetic beam. Heat-sensitive nociceptors in the skin are activated wherever the temperature is above the activation temperature. Withdrawal reflex occurs when the activated volume reaches a threshold. Previously we studied static beams with 3 types of power density distribution: Gaussian, super-Gaussian, and flat-top. We found that the flaptop is the best and the Gaussian is the worst in their performance with regard to 1) minimizing the time to withdrawal reflex, 2) minimizing the energy consumption and 3) minimizing the maximum temperature increase. The less-than-desirable performance of Gaussian beams is attributed to the uneven distribution of power density resulting in low energy efficiency: near the beam center the high power density does not contribute proportionally to increasing the activated volume;outside the beam effective radius the low power density fails to activate nociceptors. To overcome the drawbacks of Gaussian beams, in this study, we revolve a Gaussian beam around a fixed point to make the power density more uniformly distributed. We optimize the performance over two parameters: the spot size of static beam and the radius of beam revolution. We find that in comparison with a static Gaussian beam, a revolving Gaussian beam can reduce the energy consumption, and at the same time lower the maximum temperature.展开更多
文摘There has been some good news, and some bad news in the controlled fusion community recently. The good news is that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has recently produced a burning plasma. It succeeded on several of its shots where ~1.5 - 2 megajoules from its laser (National Ignition Facility, or NIF) has generated ~1.3 - 3 megajoules of fusion products. The highest ratio of fusion energy to laser energy it achieved, defined as its Q, was 1.5 at the time of this writing. While LLNL is sponsored by nuclear stockpile stewardship, this author sees a likely path from their result to fusion for energy for the world, a path using a very different laser and a very different target configuration. The bad news is that the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) has continued to stumble on more and more delays and cost overruns, as its capital cost has mushroomed from ~$5 billion to ~ $25 B. This paper argues that the American fusion effort, for energy for the civilian economy, should switch its emphasis not only from magnetic fusion to inertial fusion but should also take much more seriously fusion breeding. Over the next few decades, the world might well be setting up more and more thermal nuclear reactors, and these might need fuel which only fusion breeders can supply. In other words, fusion should begin to color outside the lines.
文摘Study Objective: The purpose of the study is to present independent laboratory testing for a novel technology in air and on surfaces. Since 2020, public health goals have focused on improving indoor air quality. This includes protection from airborne pathogens, such as tuberculosis, RSV, SARS-CoV-2, common cold or influenza viruses, measles, and others. Engineering controls are highly effective at reducing hazardous pathogens found in indoor air and from recontamination of surfaces. This occurs from a continuous cycle of settling of small, sustained airborne pathogens, which may become dehumidified, becoming airborne again, carried by room air currents around indoor spaces, then repeating the cycle. Methods: The novel technology utilizes a catalytic process to produce safe levels of hydrogen peroxide gas that are effective in reducing pathogens in the air and on surfaces. Air testing was performed with the MS2 bacteriophage, the test organism for ASHRAE standard 241, and methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Surface testing was performed with SARS-COV-2 (Coronavirus COVID-19) and H1N1 (Influenza). Typical ventilation and filtration does not effectively remove disbursed pathogens from the entire facility, due to inconsistent air circulation and surface deposits of pathogens. Results: MS2 was reduced by 99.9%;MRSA was reduced by 99.9%;SARS-CoV-2 was reduced by 99.9%;H1N1 was reduced by 99.9%. Conclusion: This novel catalytic converter reduces a variety of pathogens in the air (99%) and on surfaces (99%), by actively disinfecting with the introduction of gaseous hydrogen peroxide. This active disinfection provides a strong solution for protecting the entire facility and its occupants.
文摘We consider the problem of inducing withdrawal reflex on a test subject by exposing the subject’s skin to an electromagnetic beam. Heat-sensitive nociceptors in the skin are activated wherever the temperature is above the activation temperature. Withdrawal reflex occurs when the activated volume reaches a threshold. Previously we studied static beams with 3 types of power density distribution: Gaussian, super-Gaussian, and flat-top. We found that the flaptop is the best and the Gaussian is the worst in their performance with regard to 1) minimizing the time to withdrawal reflex, 2) minimizing the energy consumption and 3) minimizing the maximum temperature increase. The less-than-desirable performance of Gaussian beams is attributed to the uneven distribution of power density resulting in low energy efficiency: near the beam center the high power density does not contribute proportionally to increasing the activated volume;outside the beam effective radius the low power density fails to activate nociceptors. To overcome the drawbacks of Gaussian beams, in this study, we revolve a Gaussian beam around a fixed point to make the power density more uniformly distributed. We optimize the performance over two parameters: the spot size of static beam and the radius of beam revolution. We find that in comparison with a static Gaussian beam, a revolving Gaussian beam can reduce the energy consumption, and at the same time lower the maximum temperature.
