IEEE-Madion_November_Section_Notice

November Section Meeting:  "HeliAcc Particle Accelerator "

• Date: Thursday, November 20th, 2014
• Speaker:  Dennis Bahr, PhD, VP of R&D at HelionX, LLC.
• Details: Section Meeting Socialize starting at 11:30.
• Co-hosted by the IEEE-Madison Chapter of  Engineers in Medicine and Biology
• Please Register at the IEEE Madison Section events page .
• Location:  
  Engineering Centers Building
  Room 1003, Tong Auditorium
  1550 Engineering Drive
  Madison, Wisconsin 53706
  Check for Parking Availability here.
  
  
  
  
  
  Talk: Dennis will talk about his company (HelionX, LLC) and the table top sized nuclear fusion reactor they are developing.  The HeliAcc accelerator produces short high energy pulses of deuterons that are accelerated to a target producing a copious supply of pulsed neutrons.  The HeliAcc accelerator can be used as one component of a neutron camera. Security screenings are done using neutron cameras since neutron beams will pass through container walls and highlight the materials inside such as drugs, plastic explosives, and nuclear material.  Industry could use the camera to inspect critical items such as turbine blades and mortar shells. The pulses can be triggered on command allowing a neutron camera to take “pictures” even if the object is in motion, thus allowing for more rapid scanning and a higher throughput on production line operations.
  
  Current neutron generators use either radioactive materials or continuous flux accelerators for neutron production. The use of radioactive materials requires specially trained and licensed technicians.  Continuous flux accelerators are always producing neutrons when in use thus consuming large amounts of electrical power.  The HeliAcc accelerator only generates significant energy when the pulses are produced. The design of our generator is such that it is inexpensive to manufacture and is light weight so that truly portable neutron source can be built. No radioactive material is used in the process and minimal nuclear waste is generated. When the unit is not producing neutrons it is not radioactive and is safe to handle. The unit is small (a few meters long), light weight (less than 250kg), and can be easily transported.