Physics: Theses

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Remote Operation of a Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor for Producing D-T Neutrons
(Houghton College, 2016-05-10) Craft, Kyle
The Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor at Houghton College is being modified to allow remote operation. The Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor is a type of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device that can produce neutrons from deuterium-deuterium fusion reactions and x-rays from high energy electrons. The original Sorensen high voltage power supply has been replaced with a Bertan 815-30N that is able to be controlled remotely through the use of an external analog set voltage. To control and monitor the pressure inside of the chamber, an Apex AX-MC-50SCCM-D mass flow controller and a CCM501 cold-cathode ion gauge are used. LabVIEW code running on a remote computer controls the devices over an Ethernet-to-serial interface. Details of the implementation will be discussed, as well as preliminary results from the remote operation of the fusor.