Greeting EEVBees:
--If this turns out to work, energy will be very very cheap.
--Wiki has a very good article on the Polywell Fusion Project at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell--Prominently mentioned in the article are Philo Farnsworth and Robert Bussard. Philo Farnsworth you may recall is credited with the invention of Electronic Television. As I boy I saw Farnsworth on the "I've Got a Secret" television show. You can see that show here:
xttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKM4MNrB25o
--Farnsworth also invented a machine called the Farnsworth Fusor. High School Physics labs still build this table top machine today to demonstrate fusion. It can be built for less than $500 if you do some scrounging.
--Robert Bussard did pioneering work in nuclear rocket propulsion. He also conceived of the Bussard Ram Jet. A so far "Science Fiction" Star-ship drive used prominently in Larry Niven's Ring World series.
--Dr. Bussard improved upon Farnsworth's Fusor to produce the Polywell Fusion Machine. The hope is that this very small machine can produce huge amounts of energy by fusing Boron 11 nuclei with protons (hydrogen nuclei). These nuclei are subject to electrostatic pressure inside a magnetic cage. The results of the fusion of these two nuclei are three helium nuclei or alpha particles which are then decelerated and the energy collected as current. Thomas Lingon inherited the Polywell project after the death of Dr. Bussard. You can see part 1 of his 7 part talk on the Polywell here:
xttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKM4MNrB25o
--Of course no one knows if this will turn out to be practical or not. But it is being persued under a Grant from the department of the Navy. This is not a perpetual motion scam. Best Regards
Clear Ether