Analysis of Polywell videos

Three of them.  They were made shortly after Bussard's death in 2007.

I put them up to confirm what I remembered about the electron losses being a problem.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Bussard's Polywell Device:  The electron cloud is the star shaped mass in the center.  What I suggest is to fire a laser beam into the cloud in order to help confinement of the electrons.  Electron losses are a major hurdle to overcome in making the machine net energy.

Update:

You could adapt this idea written up on Next Big Future earlier this year.  It involves using lasers to move spacecraft.  Now, if you can move spacecraft with a laser, surely you can confine electrons?

Dr. Y.K. Bae demonstrated a Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT) built from off-the-shelf optical components and a YAG gain medium, and the maximum amplified photon thrust achieved was 35 µN for a laser output of 1.7 W with the use of a HR mirror with a 0.99967 reflectance.--- Next Big Future article

Electrons have 1/2000th ( approx ) the mass of a neutron or proton.  The big Tokomaks are trying to confine particles even more massive than mere protons.

A micronewton is a lot more force than you need, and it uses ( presumably on 1.7 W), so it won't thermalize the polywell.

Update:

Some readings confirm that you can move electrons with a laser beam, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it can be done in this context.  I'd love to fool around with it, but can't.  My project is a lot more modest.