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DIY Atom Smasher

Trifluoroacetic - 20-8-2008 at 18:23

Well I've been working on a home made cyclotron for some time and I'm far enough along with the project that I figured I could start to document my progress on here.
I just aquired a Cyber Research touch screen computer for $45.00. I will be rack mounting this and this will be part of the cyclotron controll system. I plan on using it to store diagnostic information from the cyclotron and eventually I plan on using it to help controll it.
I will also be hooking a Digital Storage Oscilloscope up to the unit.

IM001724.jpg - 75kB

Twospoons - 20-8-2008 at 18:25

I'd be interested to see the rest of your progress. What sort of energies are you aiming for?

Trifluoroacetic - 20-8-2008 at 18:49

I'll get a few more pictures on here shortly.
I'm aiming for energies in the 600Kev range possibly higher. I think 800Kev will be the max and that's pushing it. I'd preffer higher energies but there's only so much you can do at home on a budget and limited resources. I should be able to conduct all kinds of experiments with this unit though. For starters I wouldn't mind running it at really low energy levels to bombard/ dope silicon substrates with heavy metals.
Here is a picture of some of the vacuum pumping lines.

IM001728.JPG - 135kB

watson.fawkes - 20-8-2008 at 19:56

Yours already looks fancier than Lawrence's original double-D (that's two capital-D-shaped metal plates, thank you very much) cyclotron, which was made of blown glass. Thought lost, it was found a few years ago in an old desk of Oppenheimer's when cleaning out his office.

Trifluoroacetic - 20-8-2008 at 20:27

Well I've been trying my best to make a good research grade machine that is easier to use. Hear is a picture of the cyclotron cavity.

s706295003_753240_8829.jpg - 6kB

12AX7 - 20-8-2008 at 20:43

I hope you have applied for a license. It would be a shame if your beautiful apparatus produced unshielded radiation and gave people (not the least yourself) cancer.

Tim

Trifluoroacetic - 20-8-2008 at 21:06

I am currently building, assembling, and testing the parts at home but I will actually be moving the machine over to my local university (St. Cloud State University) when all of the parts are finished and it's ready to to be turned on for the first time. I have several professors over there that have been involved in helping me build this machine. The chamber was made over at St. Cloud State University under one of my professors direct supervision. In fact he helped me machine it. He is also going to help me machine the pole faces too. I also had a nuclear chemist that teaches at St. Cloud State lend me a high vacuum diffusion pump. He also said that he has plenty of geiger counters and radiac meters for monitoring the cyclotron.
I've got a nuclear chemist, nuclear physicist, chemist, machinist, and the Dean of students for the universities science and engineering dept that fully support this project. I plan on giving a presentation on this at the university once the machine is up and operating.
The main reason that I am building and testing most of the parts at home is because I don't have to drive back and forth to and from state just to work on this unit which would be hard with my work schedule.

12AX7 - 20-8-2008 at 21:54

Ah, sweet deal. But then that leaves this: it's a shame you can't test it on the spot once you've finished all the parts!

Tim

Arrhenius - 21-8-2008 at 11:07

Looks excellent! I had dreams of building one of these when I was younger. Started gathering parts for the magnet, and some vacuum stuff, but ended up in college... and hobbies went out the window

. Would you mind talking about the planned ion source? I don't really know much beyond hot filaments to produce protons, and would be interested to know how one can practically accelerate larger metal ions. What do you get by bombarding silicon like this?

12AX7: you really need a license to accelerate small masses? I'd doubt you're going to run into any legal issues, as i'm not aware of any way to make anything too dangerous with a cyclotron (other than some bremstralung radiation for yourself).

[Edited on 21-8-2008 by Arrhenius]

12AX7 - 21-8-2008 at 16:25

Mass doesn't matter, energy does. Past a few hundred keV (I forget if it's 200 or 500, and it probably varies) it needs to be licensed with the NRC or whatever.

First hit on Google comes from Pennsylvania:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/brp/Radiation_Control_Division/Ac...

Tim

Trifluoroacetic - 21-8-2008 at 18:10

In minnesota a license isn't required until the device is ready for operation. So basically the cyclotron can't be fired up until a license has been gotten. This unit is quite small though and I doubt that it will pose any health hazards. I believe Rutgers university has a small 1Mev cyclotron and the ionization radiation is pretty much absorbed by the magnet and the chamber.
That being said there is always a potential danger and that is why all appropriate radiation signs, rf interlocks, Lockout switches, emergancy shut of switches, dosimeters, and radiac meters will be utilized once the unit is ready to run and is re-assembled at St. Cloud State University.

Quote:

Originally posted by 12AX7
Mass doesn't matter, energy does. Past a few hundred keV (I forget if it's 200 or 500, and it probably varies) it needs to be licensed with the NRC or whatever.

First hit on Google comes from Pennsylvania:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/brp/Radiation_Control_Division/Ac...

Tim

Trifluoroacetic - 21-8-2008 at 18:19

I have one 120vac outlet running into my garage and no running water. There is no way that I could even possibly bring the unit into full operation. It would draw too much power and pop the circuit breaker. Not to mention the fact that the electromagnet would start on fire.
I can test the individual components and control systems for proper functioning. In otherwords I can test the vacuum system and the controls separately. Once I get my 7inch cyclotron finished then I can bring the parts over to SCSU and set it up.

Quote:

Originally posted by 12AX7
Ah, sweet deal. But then that leaves this: it's a shame you can't test it on the spot once you've finished all the parts!

Tim

Trifluoroacetic - 21-8-2008 at 21:01

The cyclotron is currently set up to produce ions through impact ionization using a heated filament. Heavy ions could be produced by simply evaporating or sputtering a metal source and then ionizing the gas that forms. You can also produce ions from high density plasmas that are formed in a multicusp rf driven ion source that uses permanent magnets and an rf coil to strike the plasma which can then be shot into the cyclotron.
If heavy ions are shot at low energies towards silicon they can be lodged into the silicon matrix. They can also destroy the silicon matrix and crystaline structure if they have to much energy.

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrhenius
Looks excellent! I had dreams of building one of these when I was younger. Started gathering parts for the magnet, and some vacuum stuff, but ended up in college... and hobbies went out the window

[Edited on 21-8-2008 by Trifluoroacetic]

Arrhenius - 26-8-2008 at 12:15

Cool. Mind talking about the oscillator and amplifier?

gregxy - 26-8-2008 at 12:36

Look at the legal troubles that the "Ghost Busters" got into
for having an unlicensed atom smasher.
You don't want that to happen to you!

For my PhD research we used the 88" cyclotron at Berkeley.
I remember that before I went to Berkeley I expected it to be
this little 88" box sitting on someones desk. In reality it
takes up a whole building and has 3 foot thick concrete walls for shielding. The only part that would fit on a
desk was the RF oscillator.

We used 100MeV ions to simulate cosmic ray upsets in chips.

Quote:

Trifluoroacetic - 26-8-2008 at 13:21

Right now I am just using a low voltage rf signal generator. I will be using a 200W ENI HPG-2 Rf signal generator to amplify the signal. The ENI rf generator has an internal adjustable frequency generator but it only goes up to 375khz; I plan on disconnecting the internal frequency generator and bypassing it. I will feed in my own signal from an external source.
The ENI unit is capable of generating high voltages and is used for the generation of rf plasmas.

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrhenius
Cool. Mind talking about the oscillator and amplifier?

Trifluoroacetic - 28-8-2008 at 16:46

Well I'm temporarily fitting the cyclotron parts together in order to get the correct placement of holes and brackets. I am still working on the roughing system below the table and building parts for it. Once I have finished building and buying the parts then I will be able clean all of the high vacuum parts and assemble them and begin testing the sytem.
I still need to machine the pole faces for the electromagnet yet.
The blue and red magnet is a compact experimental unit that is being used as the main magnet until I can save up enough money for a larger more powerful magnet. When I get a larger magnet I will use that as the cyclotron magnet and the blue and red magnet will eventually be used for analyzing the ion beam that is extracted from the cyclotron.

IM001740.JPG - 159kB

Arrhenius - 29-8-2008 at 12:42

Cool. Depending on the high voltage feed throughs to the Dees, you may be able too hook up a high voltage transformer from a neon sign or something like this to get a big plasma going in the chamber in order to boil off contaminants and get a lower vacuum. Just a thought, I've seen it done with vacuum coating techniques. Perhaps the oscillator itself will serve this purpose. What sorts of manual valves have you got on there?

Trifluoroacetic - 29-8-2008 at 13:21

The manual valves are high pressure valves but I found them for $5.00 so I figured I'd give them a try. If they leak then I'll need to replace them with MDC high vacuum valves which are very expensive. These valves look quite sound. I don't think they will be a problem. The big one was about 45.00 originally but the place that was selling them was liquidating all of they're inventory so they could close. These were made for high pressure gas and steam applications.

I've been thinking about possibly hooking an nst transformer up to the chamber and dee just to remove excess water vapor as I pump the unit down.

Trifluoroacetic - 29-8-2008 at 13:28

I also have a swajelok shutoff valve on the gas administering line with a NuPro metering vave. There is also a Nupro valve on the vacuum roughing line.

atomicproject - 29-8-2008 at 20:49

Excellent Work!! I have plans to build one as well. Attached is a picture of the magnet I plan on using. Got it for a "steal", just $400. All tested and certified to work. My chamber will be made of heavy borosilicate as opposed to one of metallic orgin.

Specific to your design, I do have a question. Usually the pole faces have to be of at least the same diameter of your chamber. If not, the field will not be homogenous to the proposed orbital path causing a diffuse beam spread coupled with problematic focusing and diminished output. How will you resolve this issue?

Mark

Trifluoroacetic - 30-8-2008 at 13:40

I'm going to start out with a two large 7in X 4 inch peices of low carbon steel and taper the pole faces down to about 6in. Will also taper the other side of the pole face down to about 2.5 in; this side will mate up to the magnetic core and also support the red coils. I plan on also installing two shim coils. This magnet will only be temporary. I plan on buying a much larger electromagnet to replace it. This magnet will eventually be used for ion beam analysis.

Trifluoroacetic - 30-8-2008 at 13:43

I don't think your attatchment showed up. I'd like to see your magnet.

Quote:

Originally posted by atomicproject
Excellent Work!! I have plans to build one as well. Attached is a picture of the magnet I plan on using. Got it for a "steal", just $400. All tested and certified to work. My chamber will be made of heavy borosilicate as opposed to one of metallic orgin.

Specific to your design, I do have a question. Usually the pole faces have to be of at least the same diameter of your chamber. If not, the field will not be homogenous to the proposed orbital path causing a diffuse beam spread coupled with problematic focusing and diminished output. How will you resolve this issue?

Mark

atomicproject - 30-8-2008 at 19:47

Sorry about that, my original file was too large.

Here it is. The adjustable pole faces are just over 4 inches.

Magnet.jpg - 38kB

Trifluoroacetic - 31-8-2008 at 12:43

Well (Atomic Project) That is a beautiful magnet. So what are the diameters of the pole faces? How much does it weigh, and is it fairly easy to move arround. I am planning on purchasing a magnet arround that size too sometime in the future in order to make my machine more powerful. Have you built your chamber yet? When you do feel free to post some pictures. I would love to see them.

atomicproject - 31-8-2008 at 17:05

Here is another picture.

First of all, I have really no idea how much the thing weighs. I used a forklift to load and unload it from my truck. Currently I have attached it to a furniture dolly for easy mobility.

The pole faces are about 4.2 inches in diameter. 5 to 7 inches would have been ideal !

My glass chamber(as seen in the photo) is actually two very heavy borosilicate ash trays. The inner diameter is 4.5 inches and the outer diameter is 5.75. The dees will be 4" in diameter(same as the pole faces) which will leave enough wiggle room for peripherial hardware. Using a 6 inch diamond lapidary flat lap, I will hone off about .35 inches off of each tray to ensure a good flat sealing surface.

Dont ask about the RF system as I have yet to even start on that. Luckily, being a long time HAM operator has given me quite a junk pile to choose a driver from.

The MM link below is a good one for motivational factors. They too used an all glass chamber.

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/06/11/boys-build-a-cyclo...

This next one I JUST found. I wish them all the best !

http://thecyclotronkids.com/

Mark R

CycloChamber.jpg - 77kB

Arrhenius - 31-8-2008 at 20:57

Nice power pole transformer!!

I did some some step-up experiments with those... heh.

[Edited on 31-8-2008 by Arrhenius]

atomicproject - 31-8-2008 at 21:54

Check out this magnet...AND THE PRICE !! If I lived within three to four states of this jewell I would surely make the drive. Too bad I live in California.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VARIAN-V7200-9-MAGNET-ASSEMBLY-W-E-7600-...

Mark R

Trifluoroacetic - 1-9-2008 at 16:57

I saw that magnet. it's a beauty. I believe it weighs 1800 lbs so it would probably cost me $1300.00 to have it shipped to minnesota. I unfortionately don't have that kind of money at my disposal right now. I do plan on buying a magnet about that size in the future. Right now I'm just focussing on getting my unit up and running and when I have some extra cash then I will buy a larger magnet and use my current one to analyze the ion beam.

BTW I'm sure you know this but because your using glass you will have much more radation to worry about with your device. I know that United Nuclear sells radiation sheilding.

Quote:

Originally posted by atomicproject
Check out this magnet...AND THE PRICE !! If I lived within three to four states of this jewell I would surely make the drive. Too bad I live in California.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VARIAN-V7200-9-MAGNET-ASSEMBLY-W-E-7600-...

Mark R

Picric-A - 18-9-2008 at 12:30

@atomicproject - what are you hoping to achieve with your amazing piece of kit?
just the thought of having my own mini LHC in my house makes me laugh

great idea!

atomicproject - 18-9-2008 at 17:06

Hi Picric-A,

Probably experiment with it for a year or two and then cannibalize it for another project I have yet to think of.

Mark R

Trifluoroacetic - 18-8-2009 at 19:44

I Just got a 1,000 lb electromagnet but the coils were badly damaged. The magnet has 8in pole faces.

Trifluoroacetic - 18-8-2009 at 19:45

Here's another pic. The red table in the background will be holding this magnet. i bought 8in castors rated at 1,000 lbs to put on the table.

[Edited on 19-8-2009 by Trifluoroacetic]

JohnWW - 19-8-2009 at 07:23

There are 3 possible uses for that sort of thing: (1) for determination of the magnetic moments of paramagnetic materials and compounds (and hence the number of unpaired electrons per molecule); or, using appropriate high-frequency induced magnetic fields, (2) NMR spectroscopy or (3) ESR spectroscopy. What exactly are you going to use it for?

entropy51 - 19-8-2009 at 08:04

Make that 4 possible uses:

General Recommendations for Design of Small Cyclotrons, UCRL-476, Louis Wouters, 1949.

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA297376&Locati...

watson.fawkes - 19-8-2009 at 16:41

Quote: Originally posted by entropy51

General Recommendations for Design of Small Cyclotrons, UCRL-476, Louis Wouters, 1949.

Yay!

Trifluoroacetic - 19-8-2009 at 16:47

I plan on using it for experimenting with the things you mentioned; I might also make a mass spectrograph with it. but before I do any of those things I will use it as my main cyclotron magnet until I decide to decomission it and use the manet for other things.

Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW

There are 3 possible uses for that sort of thing: (1) for determination of the magnetic moments of paramagnetic materials and compounds (and hence the number of unpaired electrons per molecule); or, using appropriate high-frequency induced magnetic fields, (2) NMR spectroscopy or (3) ESR spectroscopy. What exactly are you going to use it for?

Trifluoroacetic - 25-8-2009 at 15:11

The repaired magnet

entropy51 - 25-8-2009 at 15:29

Looks good. So accelerate some deuterons already! Hope you have a neutron detector.

Trifluoroacetic - 25-8-2009 at 18:40

I plan on accelerating protons, deuterons, and alphas to start with. I don't have a neutron detector but I'm sure I can get a hold of one over at SCSU from a nuclear chemmist/RSO that I know.

Trifluoroacetic - 29-8-2009 at 16:08

I just put the magnet on the table. Now it's just a matter of putting the parts together

entropy51 - 29-8-2009 at 17:46

That's starting to look fairly dangerous. Do you have the chamber, pumps, and RF oscillator already?

I suppose you've seen the cyclotron that students at Houghton College are building?

http://www.houghton.edu/academics/programs/physics/Student%2...

And of course the Rutgers cyclotron:

http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/cyclotron/

Trifluoroacetic - 29-8-2009 at 19:41

Yes the pumps are ready for installation, as well as the vacuum chamber and vacuum lines. All of the controls are mounted on a 53in tall 19in wide rack. The rf power supply is ready but it only puts out 200 watts. I plan on upgrading it with a higher powered unit in the future.
The rf match still needs to be made. I also need to by some high voltage rf connectors and cable.
I should have most of the vacuum system installed by the end of tuesday.

Trifluoroacetic - 29-8-2009 at 19:45

yes I have seen the Houghton college cyclotron. The funny thing is that my cyclotron has larger pole faces and therefore should be a bit more powerful.
Rutgers does have a nice mini cyclotron. I wish I could get a magnet that big. I will compensate with a smaller core by pushing it close to it's saturation point and by pumping in high rf power.

entropy51 - 30-8-2009 at 07:21

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

Yes the pumps are ready for installation, as well as the vacuum chamber and vacuum lines. All of the controls are mounted on a 53in tall 19in wide rack. The rf power supply is ready but it only puts out 200 watts.

Impressive! Are you using an exposed hot filament ion source or a capillary arc? I presume you are looking to detect an internal beam before trying to deflect it out of the magnetic field?

If you haven't tested the vacuum system yet, you might want to do so before you mount it in the magnet. It will be more accessible for leak hunting. Are your pumps diffusion or turbo-vac? As someone pointed out earlier, you may need to outgas the tank with a heavy glow discharge before you put any RF on it.

Any thoughts on why the Houghton rig is producing such a pitiful "beam"?

[Edited on 30-8-2009 by entropy51]

JohnWW - 30-8-2009 at 08:11

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

Yes the pumps are ready for installation, as well as the vacuum chamber and vacuum lines. (cut)

On another thread, I posted about the design of vacuum (negative-pressure) vessels:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=12686

[Edited on 30-8-09 by JohnWW]

entropy51 - 30-8-2009 at 08:43

Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW

On another thread, I posted about the design of vacuum (negative-pressure) vessels:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=12686

So you did! If ever I feel the pressing need to use the subroutine I have for evaluating elliptic integrals I will consult it too. Thanks.

[Edited on 30-8-2009 by entropy51]

[Edited on 30-8-2009 by entropy51]

hissingnoise - 30-8-2009 at 10:50

Yep, the taste of those $ signs still lingers. . .?

[Edited on 30-8-2009 by hissingnoise]

Trifluoroacetic - 30-8-2009 at 14:57

I will be using a hot filament for the ion source for preliminary testing, tweaking and optimizing the machine. I would like to upgrade the ion source in the future to an ECR source if I can get a research grant.
At the moment the unit has a target inside the chamber that is inside a faraday shield.
This will be used to help tweek the unit and optimize it for the strongest beam output possible. I am planning on building a large 12 in diameter chamber for holding more advanced sensors, light pipes, photo-detectors, and an extraction port.

I will be using a diffusion pump and mechanical roughing pump.

I'm not sure why the houghton cyclotron is working so badly. I'll have to do some more reading on it.

Quote: Originally posted by entropy51

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

entropy51 - 30-8-2009 at 15:23

If you haven't seen it yet, you might want to see if the college has this paper:

A Capillary Ion Source for the Cyclotron, M.S.Livingston, M.G. Holloway, and C.P.
Baker, Rev. Sci. Inst. 10, 63 (1939)

Trifluoroacetic - 11-9-2009 at 13:58

As you can see I'm getting closer to finishing this beast. I'm installing the vacuum lines today. The cyclotron magnet still needs to have pole faces made.

Trifluoroacetic - 11-9-2009 at 14:09

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

As you can see I'm getting closer to finishing this beast. I'm installing the vacuum lines today. The cyclotron magnet still needs to have pole faces made.

looks like my photo is too big; will have to edit it and post it later

AtomicParts - 11-9-2009 at 18:20

Outstanding work!!! What a difference 11 months make. Was that magnet bought off of e-Bay? It looks a bit familiar. Regardless, it will clearly produce the sought after results. What kind of damage did the coils have? How did you repair them?

I also have alot of questions regarding your gas handling system, but that can wait.

Sorry for all the questions, but you achievement thus far has me very intrigued.

Mark

Trifluoroacetic - 11-9-2009 at 23:42

Quote: Originally posted by AtomicParts

Outstanding work!!! What a difference 11 months make. Was that magnet bought off of e-Bay? It looks a bit familiar. Regardless, it will clearly produce the sought after results. What kind of damage did the coils have? How did you repair them?

I also have alot of questions regarding your gas handling system, but that can wait.

Sorry for all the questions, but you achievement thus far has me very intrigued.

Mark

Thankyou.
Yes I bought the magnet off of ebay. The water cooling lines were crushed when the pallet it was on broke and the magnet tipped over during shipping. I was able to attatch new pieces of copper tubing and repair the lines. THen i used bondo and paint to make the coils look new.
The coils tested for continuity and give the same resistance reading.

Trifluoroacetic - 13-9-2009 at 19:52

Heres a look at the system so far.

JohnWW - 22-9-2009 at 21:21

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

As you can see I'm getting closer to finishing this beast. I'm installing the vacuum lines today.(cut)

What sort of vacuum pump have you got for it, and how much did it cost?

Trifluoroacetic - 24-9-2009 at 21:49

Water cooling lines

10629_290231940003_706295003_8791140_4414416_n.jpg - 67kB

Trifluoroacetic - 24-9-2009 at 21:51

the magnet

10629_290231950003_706295003_8791141_493341_n-1.jpg - 43kB

Trifluoroacetic - 24-9-2009 at 21:53

Vacuum system

10629_290231965003_706295003_8791143_138132_n.jpg - 62kB

Trifluoroacetic - 24-9-2009 at 21:59

Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW

Quote: Originally posted by Trifluoroacetic

As you can see I'm getting closer to finishing this beast. I'm installing the vacuum lines today.(cut)

What sort of vacuum pump have you got for it, and how much did it cost?

[file]8711[/file

I'm using a welch duoseal pump that pumps 25l/s. I am also using a small diffusion pump from SCSU.

10629_290231980003_706295003_8791145_6155186_n.jpg - 61kB

Trifluoroacetic - 18-4-2010 at 11:36

Here is a new pic of the machine with a 3KW rf match and gas panels installed.

IM001998.JPG - 157kB

Trifluoroacetic - 18-4-2010 at 11:40

Here is a close up of the RF match box.
I'm also installing a water pressure switch on the magnet coolant lines which will prevent the magnet from being energized if water is not running through it.

IM002003.JPG - 142kB

Mildronate - 4-6-2010 at 14:04

parameters? very nice project.

Trifluoroacetic - 7-9-2010 at 15:08

more progress has been made. An Alcatel pump has been installed.

IM002297.JPG - 166kB

Trifluoroacetic - 7-9-2010 at 15:11

A new fore-line roughing system has been installed

IM002288.JPG - 60kB

Sedit - 7-9-2010 at 20:14

Dude you are my hero, I loved making tesla coils, but my dream is your reality. I love this thread and please for the love of god keep us updated every chance you get.

Trifluoroacetic - 7-9-2010 at 20:20

I will do that

Trifluoroacetic - 7-9-2010 at 20:22

I can't wait to turn this thing on. It will be a while yet though. I wonder if Sauron still thinks I should be the winner of the Hubris award?

[Edited on 8-9-2010 by Trifluoroacetic]

IM002292.JPG - 147kB

[Edited on 8-9-2010 by Trifluoroacetic]

Trifluoroacetic - 23-9-2010 at 14:54

Well I just acquired two pieces of 1018 steel for the cyclotron's magnetic pole faces. They measure 8.5in in diameter X 2.75in thick.
They weigh in at 44 pounds a piece but should weigh in at about 40 after machining.

IM002316.JPG - 133kB

entropy51 - 23-9-2010 at 17:16

Trifluoroacetic, when machining the pole faces you might want to leave enough space to insert magnetic shims for adjusting the radial field gradient and focusing the beam.

I have to second Sedit's comment. This is a great project!

Ozone - 23-9-2010 at 18:55

"I wonder if Sauron still thinks I should be the winner of the Hubris award?"

I am sure he would present it personally! :cool:

Excellent, I can't wait for the smoke-test!

Cheers,

O3

Trifluoroacetic - 23-9-2010 at 19:27

Let's hope it doesn't smoke!
I'm hoping to put a slight linear taper on the pole faces as well as a 45 degree chamfe/bevel soon. That will have to be done at St. Cloud State University. I don't have the right equipment or machining skills to do it alone.

Trifluoroacetic - 29-7-2011 at 16:20

The cyclotron pole faces have been machined

a 45 degree chamfer was put on the pole faces to help prevent magnetic saturation of the pole faces. A linear taper will be put on in the future to improve horizontal focussing of the proton beam.

229792_10150724852480004_706295003_19504199_2065484_s.jpg - 7kB

229792_10150724852480004_706295003_19504199_2065484_s.jpg - 7kB

Trifluoroacetic - 1-8-2011 at 17:39

The Cyclotron gets its first pole face!

Trifluoroacetic - 8-8-2011 at 18:07

The electromagnets pole tips have been installed but are not magnetically aligned yet. I need to purchase a telescoping gauge for this. Also the gap is a little over 2 inches thick due to a measurement error from not having a telescoping gauge. So thin magnetic shims will be installed behind both of the pole faces.

Sedit - 8-8-2011 at 23:20

I for one can not wait until you fire this bad boy up. Its always been a pipe dream of mine to make one, if nothing else a beta tron so its awesome to see someone putting it into practice.

Trifluoroacetic - 9-8-2011 at 19:04

Yes it will be great when we can finally power this unit up. Of course getting it to work will be quite the task. I doubt it will run right or even produce a proton beam on the first try.

phlogiston - 6-9-2011 at 14:14

Wow, just wow. Turning it on willl be nice indeed but I love reading about your progress so far. The world needs more people that actually DO something like this rather than dream about it (like most of us including me).

aliced25 - 3-11-2011 at 15:05

Actually ran into the fusors a while back and thought that was plenty mad enough (accessing the deuterium is no small challenge - doable if one is tinkering with my other project, but not cheap), then I saw the Boys Build a Cyclotron article and thought hmmm... (Check out the size of the Dry Cell Batteries)

Then I had a wee look around the net and found the paper by Loius Wouters (1949) 'General Recommendations for Design of Small Cyclotrons' (attached), which would appear to be the basis of the one built by the students.

I then thought, as I'm prone to do (scary when that shit happens) how much easier it would be to source hydrogen and lithium to fuck around with fusion at home

But there would have to be some changes of course, then I found another paper, Leslie Dewan (2007) 'Design and Construction of a Cyclotron Capable of Accelerating Protons to 2MeV' (Thesis - attached).

Even better would be if permanent magnets could be, I mean a 1.3-1.4T central area (about 20x100mm air gap) is feasible with 1" magnets and iron yokes, but to get above that would take some thought.

What would be interesting is if pre-ionized protons could be delivered - as plasma - to the central area, that would save an awful lot of fucking around would it not? Capillary plasma in a tube is not exactly unknown

Attachment: Wouters.General.Recommendations.for.Design.of.Small.Cyclotrons.pdf (639kB)
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Attachment: Dewan.Design.and.Construction.of.a.Cyclotron.Capable.of.Accelerating.Protons.to.2MeV.pdf (1.1MB)
This file has been downloaded 827 times

Attachment: King.A.Preliminary.Design.for.a.Small.Permanent.Magnet.Cyclotron.pdf (544kB)
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aliced25 - 5-11-2011 at 15:39

Ok, looking at the linear accelerators and the use of more and more stages in order to double the speed through each (within limits). What would happen if, the modified Double-D configuration were used, but instead of 1 180' electrode and one strip electrode per pair, there was a 90' electrode and a strip electrode per pair and 4 pairs per cyclotron? the circular motion is imposed by the magnetic field and the effects of the imposing of a charge, attraction to the opposing pole and stripping of the charge, repulsion from the like pole, no?

I'm just getting the thought out while it is bouncing about in my head, if reusing the same pair of electrodes multiple times utilizing magnetic fields is effective, reusing 4 pairs of electrodes through the same principle(s) "might" be better, depending upon the losses imposed.

Also, instead of trying to direct the neutrons out onto a target and then try and convert them in order to detect them, why not place a lithium tetraborate glass window in the way of the beam? It would convert neutrons to gasses, which would presumably stay within the unit or be able to be recycled, and a/b/g radiation which can be both shielded and detected.

[Edited on 5-11-2011 by aliced25]