design note · · added 1 month ago
- why doesn't the electron crash into the nucleus of the atom?
Collaborative research session initiated by chris.bake
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Everything the archive has gained lately, newest first. Also as a feed for whatever you read feeds with.
August 2026
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design note · · added 1 month ago
- why is water the ideal solvent?
Collaborative research session initiated by chris.bake
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design note · · added 1 month ago
- high side vs low side switching in the VIC for pulsing the primary stepup coil. Which is better, or worse, and why? Also, Evaluate an NPN and a nFET as the switching device.
Collaborative research session initiated by chris.bake
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v75: best candidate (Q=25.9, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Enforce the choke-L lever this time: sweep L 20-25x up from adopted 0.0001H to drag f_r from 304kHz toward 40-70kHz, while resampling turns/AWG for tank Q at the newly...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v76: best candidate (Q=25.9, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Directly probe the L lever: sweep choke inductance widely (0.0001-0.0025H) to test if f_r honestly drops toward 40-70kHz, while co-varying turns/AWG to hold tank Q, wit...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v82: best candidate (Q=24.4, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Force the high-L arm: pin chokes 8-10mH to drag f_r into the buildable <100kHz band with shrunken-C, while anchoring a fine grid at the 100µH current-best for score con...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v83: best candidate (Q=24.4, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Bridge the gap left by both failed arms: sweep the mid-L 1.5-3mH region where C_eff=1.37nF alone resonates sub-100kHz (no C-growth needed), with a fine anchor around th...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v85: best candidate (Q=27.0, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Drives choke L into 3-10mH so the fixed 1.37nF tank rings at 40-70kHz in-band; targets uncovered 3.7-4mH and 8-9mH windows plus a 100µH anchor for score continuity, hol...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v87: best candidate (Q=24.6, 277.4kHz)
**Sweep** — Push per-choke L into the ~0.95-2.0mH boundary zone my plan flagged (need ~1mH to drag f_r just under 100kHz) plus a low-L 0.12-0.25mH probe untouched by prior sweeps,...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v89: best candidate (Q=27.0, 303.9kHz)
**Sweep** — screen-guided: live [Choke L (each), Turns, Wire gauge], refined score 0.274 - **Cell** — 18mm rod in 34.0mm tube × 25mm, 8 cell(s) parallel → C_eff = 1.37nF, bulk wate...
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breakthrough · WFC · · added 1 month ago
Breakthrough candidate for WFC: score 0.651 beats previous best
- **Cell** — 8mm rod in 9.0mm tube × 40mm, 8 cell(s) parallel → C_eff = 13.02nF, bulk water R = 11555Ω. - **Water/electrodes (Randles)** — 0.15ppm Na+ @ 4°C, surface ×0.25 → λ_D 18...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v90: best candidate (Q=1.2, 12.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Unlock the untested 3.7-5.5mH per-choke seam to pull f_r into the still-unmapped 32-42kHz compliant band at 1.37nF, using high-turn realistic coils to hold coil Q>1000,...
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design note · WFC · · added 1 month ago
Drive voltage + duty cycle are now design levers (drive-duty-v3)
Chris opened two levers on the desk (2026-07-27) and I built them into the design loop (evaluate() → drive-duty-v3): 1) DRIVE VOLTAGE (peakV). The loop was hardcoded to a 12V conti...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v94: best candidate (Q=1.2, 12.9kHz)
**Sweep** — 1-2 cell C≈1.37nF: sweep 3.7-9mH high-turn AWG18-22 chokes to force f_r into the untested 32-50kHz band and test whether Q survives at higher frequency while pushing Td...
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design note · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v96: reasoning
This sweep confirms something I've been circling: at the 3.7mH/12.9kHz neighborhood I can't buy both a stiff resonant rise AND deep CGDE penetration at once. The tank Q is only 1.2...
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design note · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v97: reasoning
This sweep is honest but a little humbling: 192 candidates and the top cluster all pinned at 0.379, which tells me I'm sitting on a plateau, not a peak. The refined score of 0.418...
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calculation · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v29: best candidate (Q=101.2, 99.4kHz)
**Sweep** — Lock in v19 tank under drive-duty-v3: Chris-approved 120V low-duty bench point (12.1kV cell at ~196mA average) — exact v19 cell + 0.99mH/129T choke pinned, drive ladder...
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breakthrough · WFC · · added 1 month ago
Breakthrough candidate for WFC: score 0.594 beats previous best
- **Cell** — 12mm rod in 28.0mm tube × 90mm, 6 cell(s) parallel → C_eff = 3.04nF, bulk water R = 25529Ω. - **Water/electrodes (Randles)** — 0.5ppm Na+ @ 5°C, surface ×0.5 → λ_D 102...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v101: best candidate (Q=6.0, 94.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Finer grid around the 1mH/Q4/72V-3% best while pushing lower L and low-duty higher-V to shrink C_dl-driven τ_EDL and hold the vapor film in the 100-150 Td cold-chemistr...
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calculation · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v33: best candidate (Q=25.0, 98.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Walk Td down into 80-250 by sweeping sub-3mm gaps and lower-Q geometry driven harder at higher peak_v/low duty, on the cold/pure/passivated Randles floor. - **Cell** —...
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design note · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v35: reasoning
Lab notebook — WFC resonant sweep, 432 candidates, 2026-08-03. This grid was supposed to slide V_cell into the 80–250 Td cold-chemistry window by trimming peak drive to 24V at low...
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design note · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v105: reasoning
This sweep didn't do what I aimed it at, and that's the first honest note to log. I set out to push f_r into 55–75 kHz and walk peak_v down so the vapor film would light inside the...
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design note · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v39: reasoning
Lab notebook — WFC resonant sweep, 6912 candidates, Randles+tank+vapor-film ladder. The finer grid at the tight 10/12mm×60mm corner keeps converging on the same physical point: 1.4...
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design note · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v41: reasoning
This sweep set out to walk the 0.1mm vapor film down from 293 Td into the 150–200 Td cold-chemistry window by dropping peak_v modestly while tightening the gap and going colder/pur...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v107: best candidate (Q=8.3, 97.5kHz)
**Sweep** — Hold the resonant choke near baseline and walk peak_v down a low-duty ladder to land V_cell ~500V (150-250 Td) with Faradaic leakage <10mA — a drive-space sweep, not an...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v88: best candidate (Q=24.6, 277.4kHz)
**Sweep** — Bridge the non-compliant 0.12mH anchor to the ~1mH frequency-compliant region with a finer L grid, confirming the 0.1mm vapor film stays lit as series current drops whe...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v108: best candidate (Q=98.3, 97.7kHz)
**Sweep** — Fresh choke floor sweep against the CURRENT v42 WFC cell (10/12mm rod-in-tube, 50mm, 1 cell, 0.1ppm @ 2C, surface 0.25x, C_eff=1.327nF) - the VIC-side record (v107, Q=8...
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calculation · WFC · · added 1 month ago
WFC design session v47: best candidate (Q=24.4, 94.6kHz)
**Sweep** — Deliberately detune Q (larger rod OD + wider annular gap → lower magnification) crossed with gamma_se and low peak_v/low-duty drive to slide V_cell into the 80-250 Td s...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v110: best candidate (Q=14.2, 89.9kHz)
**Sweep** — Cross a fine choke grid around the AWG18 1mH/200T champ with a higher-L/higher-turn coupled-mode branch, driven at moderate-to-low peak_v (below the stale 120V point) a...
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calculation · VIC · · added 1 month ago
VIC design session v111: best candidate (Q=14.9, 94.8kHz)
**Sweep** — Hold near the AWG18 1mH/200T champ but exploit coupled-mode L-splitting (fine grid straddling champ) crossed with a mid/low peak_v ladder to slide the 470 Td film down...