Today I had to face the fact that I may have Delusions of Grandeur. I spoke to two people who know me and explained the my theories and my thoughts. They thought not. To explain here, I'll have to get into a little physics.
Sometime between 1980 and 1986 I developed a Theory and built an imaginary space vehicle both powered by and armed with technology beyond what was currently available. One of the core pieces for this vessel was an energy source using energies plasma contained in a magnetic field. At my young age I didn't have the language for this source of energy but I later learned that what I was envisioning Nuclear Fusion.
By 1986 I had "fleshed out" the model for this ship including the energy sources and during this process I postulated certain criteria for this Fusion Reactor to operate. Among other things there were two paramount requirements, the first being the ability to generate and contain a fuel source in a stable plasma field. The second requirement would be control of the plasma fuel via magnetic fields to prevent the plasma from contacting the "normal material" of the shell. While the first criteria can be satisfied now with advanced technology, the second requirement isn't so easy to accomplish. I recognized that any magnetic field would be easily disrupted and any bulge or dip in the containment would result in a containment failure. The biggest hurdle I could see was that the Earth's gravitational field would eventually disrupt the powerful EM field needed to make the Fusion cell work. Although no mathematician, the only way I could overcome this was by building the Fusion Reactor in the micro gravity of space. If built outside of a large gravitational well, maintaining the requisite EM compression and containment shield should just become an issue of available power.
In 2012 I became aware of fusion research being done around the globe. I read about the French Laser Mégajoule, HiPER, facility and their ongoing research into Fusion. I was surprised to see that their research was taking the same pathway as my own theories. They were using a revolutionary technique of building a magnetic doughnut for containment. Still, having read their reports I saw their progress being hampered by malformations of the EM field and disruptions caused by "background" energies. While their research is impressive (and I have kept up with their progress) they are still a long way away from a sustainable Fusion Reactor.
Another aspect of the design for my "ship" was the use of Helium as a conductive gas throughout the design and use of the ship. Helium lasers seemed to me to be very effective and versatile. In it's basic elemental form Helium is a remarkable element with many properties that would be useful in the design of a space going vessel. It is a stable element, non-toxic, abundant, and easily transmutable to different states. Other than being a medium for lasers, the Helium would also serve as a conductive material allowing for a predictable and stable distribution of power although I would couple it with Neon for the internal systems. Neon would be my preferred element to combine with Helium for the internal systems due to their similarity of functions and the ability to substitute Neon for most usages of Helium in an emergency. Finally, the reason I used Helium in my design is due to the ease by which Helium Plasma can be generated and utilized into the Fusion process. Since the element is the 2nd most abundant in the known universe, it could be harvested with ease from stray material floating through space. Since the primary power source and main weapon of the ship would be dependent on the plasma fueled Fusion Core, it made sense to use a medium that was both on hand and easily replaceable.
This now goes back to the primary system of my design, the Fusion Reactor. Helium Plasma is one of the mediums some researchers are using to create a fusion reaction. Hydrogen is by far the most desirable, but Helium is less volatile and easier to work with in many cases. Again I see that my design postulated theories and provided solutions that are now being put to work by the scientific community many decades later.
There were other systems I worked out in the vessel that were all codependent on each other. I just mentioned two of the many systems that work together to make the whole function. Another important element to the function of the whole was a Cyclotron. Honestly here I have to say that although it would work, advances have brought us more efficient Particle Accelerators that would work much better than my original design.
I will come back to this again later but I wanted to lay down the foundations. You see, I have theories and ideas that are not what could be called "mainstream" science. In fact, had I been old enough to publish my theories back in the 80's I would have been called a fool, ignorant, or simply ignored. Today though, I see that those long ago theories have born fruit as others have discovered what I found in my youth.
So you see here is the issue. A large part of me wants to write down all my observations, theories, and insights then send them to leading physicists. I believe that locked within my brain are avenues of research that could advance our understanding of the universe and leap us forward by several decades. While I mention only two of my old concepts that have come forward and been discovered by modern physicists, these are fairly small accomplishments compared the the possibility of my most extreme ideas. Am I suffering from Delusions of Grandeur by believing that locked within a mind not classically trained are the keys to understanding new aspects of physics? Am I delusional for looking back at my old designs and seeing their modern usage? I've been told by others that it isn't delusional but instead optimistic. I wonder though if some future physicist will be working on Rutherford's Law in his own research.
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