Robert Bussard's IEC Fusion device

I first learned about this work several years ago, perhaps it was
in 2006.  He made a presentation on YouTube, which I can't link
to here, but I remember it well.

Two things I remembered: 1) it was hard to follow and to understand,
and 2) I was struck at his confidence level in his work.  He said quite
flatly that it will work.  Bussard is dead now, this was his last work.
He wanted to share it with the world before his death.  Little was
published about it because it had to fly under the radar so as to
avoid interference from those who would stop the program.  It was
a Navy program and it was under a publishing embargo for 11 years.
Obviously, Bussard was no crackpot, he was the real deal.

The reason I am writing about Bussard's device is in connection to
the book that I have been writing about: "Mining the Sky".  It turns out
that this device can be used in a space ship, and it would be one
heck of a space ship.  Such a ship could take off like a plane and
go into orbit.  It could fly to Mars and back.  By way of powerful and
efficient fusion power, this thing could go anywhere in the solar system.
That would include trips to the asteroid belt where the mineral wealth
there is sufficient enough to make everyone on Earth a billionaire many
times over.

Bussard lamented the mindset that is commonplace in the Western
world these days.  His biggest problem was not the physics of the
device, but in getting funds to do his work.  The funds required is
small- almost ridiculously small- in terms of the potential benefits
that could be obtained from a succesful device of this type.  But no
one seems to care.  There is plenty of money in this country to try
out this device, but too many people don't understand it, nor are
interested enough in it to try to understand.

Human emotions are easy enough to understand.  Greed, power,
and self preservation.  First of all, greed.  You could motivate someone
by appealing to their desire for great wealth.  Certainly a device that
would allow one to tap the mineral wealth of the asteroids is certainly
enough to motivate somebody out there.  Secondly, power.  A device
like this has military value.  This should be so obvious that it needs
little explanation.  The shorthand for this is that whoever dominates
the high ground will win the battles.  Finally, self preservation.  A device
like this may save the human race.  It could make the deserts bloom,
so that there should be no shortage of water nor food anywhere.  It
can defend the skies from rogue asteroids that have the potential to
end civilization and even life itself on this planet.  The only excuse to
not to develop this device is to be dead.  If you're alive, then you should
be vitally interested in it.

But what if it doesn't work?  That doesn't stop governments from
spending huge sums of money on other projects that have no more
merit than this one.  Actually, it doesn't stop governments from
spending huge amounts of money on projects with less merit
than this one.  That is what Bussard was worried about.  Too many
people have too many reasons to oppose this project for reasons
that have nothing to do with its merit or lack of same.  It is part
of the inertia that is threatening all of us.  It may take something
to wake up the policy makers.  Hopefully this won't take too long.

pB11 fusion reaction yields 3 alpha particles (Helium nucleii)