>From Terry:
> I wish I had his [Mills'] confidence. > One issue is the term "at rated power". A good deal is known about > the effect of concentrated light on photovoltaics (cpv). Up to 300 > suns have been demonstrated commercially; but, these systems must have > huge heat sinks to remove heat from the pv cells. Heat is one cause > of rapid degradation of the p/n junction. > A pv cell operates like a reverse LED. The life of the LED depends on > how long you can maintain the separation of dopants in the junction. > Rapid migration occurs at high temperatures resulting in a reduction > of the amount of light produced by the LED. > Pulsed power will actually cause an inertial effect on the dopants > increasing the degradtion rate. Little is known about this effect in > pv cells; but, a great deal has been learned in glass based lasers > thanks to the NIF. So much has been discovered that it has cast doubt > on whether a sustained fusion reaction is commercially feasible using > this method. One of the conundrums I personally wrestle with is that Dr. Mills has made many predictions in the past that failed to pan out. When I ponder this disquieting fact it's important not to lose site of the fact that each flip of the coin is a 50-50 proposition. The fact that all prior flips may have come up to be mostly tails should bear no influence on subsequent flips. Therefore, I don't have a problem allowing BLP to remain a 50-50 coin toss for me. I realize I'm no scientist, researcher, or engineer. Neither am I a get-your-hands-dirty inventor, except perhaps when it comes to modeling clay. ;-) In my soul, I'm much more a theoretician...and I guess a dreamer of future possibilities as well. I must constantly remind himself of the fact that whatever computer model I may attempt to dream up within the safe and secure confine of my workstation, it must eventually be compared to what actually manifests out in the universe that we all interact within. Typically, the reality of my computer simulations bear little resemblance to physical reality. My life has been a continuous series of back-to-the-drawing-board adventures. Curiously, I'm actually getting to the point now in my life where going back to the drawing board is not a bad thing. I don't have to perceive it as another failure. It simply means I have another opportunity to learn something new. When Dr. Mills goes on and on about the advantages CQM (which I must confess I occasionally DO find intriguing at times), I find myself wondering: ...but what NEW thing have you learned today, Dr. Mills? I certainly hope what has been happening lately over at BLP means they in the process learning a LOT of nifty new things, things that hopefully will end up benefiting us all. Hopefully we will not have all that much longer to wait to discover the reality of the situation. For now, my best off-the-wall prediction is: BLP with either pass into the "SunCell (tm)" limelight, or else embark on a final swansong within 6 - 12 months. The payoff: bragging rights only. And of course, there is always the disclaimer: My current prediction is subject to change without notice based on further developments. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson svjart.orionworks.com zazzle.com/orionworks
