FUSOR I

Author: Brian, Jimbo, & Tim

FUSOR I was the first plasma project our group undertook collectively. We built it more or less in a weekend, and it worked for three weekends until we pushed it to it limits. The following photos show its quick construction, brief operation, and abrupt failure.

The star mode, with a white-hot grid! Too hot.

Jimbo mounting his donated rack into Dan’s 80/20 frame.

Tim Ponter bolting up the FUSOR-I chamber.

Brian and Jimbo reversing all the diode’s of a C-W stack.

Dan using Tim’s micro-spot welder to form a grid.

Jimbo checking out Bill’s vacuum door.

Lead sheets for proper shielding.

Video camera to remotely monitor the FUSOR the operation.

Tim peering through the chamber.

Dan operating

Jimbo was worried about where temperature, so he got his thermal imaging camera out. The view port was piping hot!

Not too soon after this happed simultaneously with the cracking sound!

The cracking sound was the view port window breaking from the heating stress.