Prometheus Fusion Perfection

All photos.

Today I tweaked the electron gun.

My goal is to bring the electron gun closer to ground. This should reduce the pressure needed to strike a plasma.

I used Stuart’s DIY spot welder to make a hoop from welding wire:

I installed this hoop on the electron gun:

This arrangement brings ground potential closer to the electron gun.

And it worked somewhat.

With this hoop, I can strike a stable plasma at 18 millatorr. Better than yesterday’s 25 millatorr. Still needs work to get back to 8.5 millatorr.

When I went to fire the coils I discovered my SCR is shot:

Turns out the SCR’s peak current is 2,000 amps. At 2,300 amps we are well beyond that!

I have to order a new SCR tonight. Suggestions welcome.

Elsewhere… I drilled a hole in the langmuir probe holder to allow trapped gas to escape:

Also tested out the supercapacitors in my friend Arnie’s forklift:

They were able to lift Arnie twice!

Video of operation: