The LPPFusion research team has been working hard to prepare for future experiments with our FF-2B experimental fusion device. Since our beryllium electrode has cracked, we need to get our spare electrode re-profiled and then annealed. Annealing is a controlled heating and cooling process that releases stress built up during machining and thus strengthens the metal. We expect the new part to be ready during November.
In the meantime, LPPFusion Research Scientist Dr. Syed Hassan is upgrading our facility for the next experiments. He is preparing to install a new shielded window on one side of the vacuum chamber. The shield will close and completely protect the window during shots. Between shots, we’ll open the shield and have a clear window to closely monitor the state of the anode and any coating on it. Another new window flange will serve a dual purpose for our high speed ICCD camera. Half of the flange will have an extension tube to move the window further from the anode, reducing the coating for optical images. The other half will serve to mount an x-ray pinhole. The pinhole will let x-rays form an image on a Cesium-Iodide scintillator which will convert the x-ray image into an optical image that the ICCD camera can capture.
Fig. 2 Dr. Syed Hassan, in full protective suit, starts to disassemble the top of FF-2B to remove the cracked anode.
In addition, Dr. Hassan has improved our safety equipment. He detected and fixed leaks in our glove box, which protect us from any beryllium dust when we are working with the anode and cathode and from decaborane fumes when we’re filling the sample chamber. By using an oxygen meter to measure how fast oxygen from the air returns to the glove box after he filled it with pure nitrogen, Dr. Hassan determined that it takes about 10 days to exchange the gas in the glove box with air in the room. Since the air in the room turns over about four times an hour or 100 times a day, this means the glove box dilutes any dust by a factor of at least 1,000—a huge protection factor. But to make sure our safety procedures are working Dr. Hassan and Lerner are taking medical tests to detect any exposure to beryllium.
On top of all this, Dr. Hassan is devoting much of his effort to preparing for the experimental series after the next one, when we expect to bring FF-2B to full power by attaching four more capacitors. Increasing our peak current by nearly 50%. This preparation involves assembling eight more switches and the four hubs that attach them to the capacitors, all of which have to be painstakingly protected against arcing with our multi-level insulation. This preparation now will allow us to transition to the high-power tests rapidly in early 2026.