Single circuits generate nuclear reactions

[Feynman]

@aleks, Koen
Well to recover a neutral charge, the carbon rod must recapture an equivilent number of electrons, no?   Or else it will have net (+)...  are you saying it recaptures charge from beta rays which "loop" through the air and come back to hit the rod?   If so, that still leaves a net (+) charge on the rod, because we know some of these beta rays manage to escape.   (Of course, our discussion is predicated on the input electrons are being 'net' converted directly to the beta rays, which I personally believe to be the case, but is not yet proven. We do not yet know if there is broken symmetry here with respect to net charge. ).

So if you are saying the carbon-rod 'charge recovery' is not from beta rays, by what process is the carbon rod recapturing a net neutral charge?  From the surrounding air from which is becoming ionized?

PS  Let me mention EXPERIMENTALLY we do see a small potential (<20V) from the carbon rod to the output toroid and surfaces, but this is nowhere near the voltage induced in the collector toroid (~200-500V).   Also with such high voltages these potentials show up damn near everywhere so its hard to say whether its an artifact or not.

[Feynman]

@Koen
You did indeed ask it first my friend.   I just took longer than you did to understand what's going on.   

I repeat: if our stimulated emission is similar to natural beta emission, then we should get a positive charge on the emitter right after the
beta burst.
Right?

Yes I think this is the case!   To the scopes!!!! 

[aleks]

PS  Let me mention EXPERIMENTALLY we do see a small potential (<20V) from the carbon rod to the output toroid and surfaces, but this is nowhere near the voltage induced in the collector toroid (~200-500V).

If you connect to ground, you'll have unlimited number of free electrons, so for safety reasons carbon rod should be grounded.

Even if not grounded, carbon rod charge recovery should not bother you: electrostatic laws will do it for you. This is exactly where minor air ionization may happen: carbon rod will be "sucking" free electrons from the air. Since betas won't go too far from the device, this will create a closed loop in the air, with a bit of constant local air ionization.

[Feynman]

@aleks

In the early beta patents (<1940s)  Koen and I were looking at, the surrounding collector is (optionally) grounded, not the beta emitter in the center.  Personally, this does not make sense to me, but it is in the patent.  Perhaps they are assuming the (+) charge on the beta emitter in the center can only increase, while the electrons on the collector surface can be 'used up' while powering a load, ultimately requiring an earth ground on the collector for zero potential reference.  This is a bit different from the VSG circuit, which is dynamic in terms of ultimate charge distributions.

We can try grounding the connecting the anode of the carbon rod (which would prevent these potentials from building up), but I'm afraid that won't solve our problem of capturing more current . . . if it does not affect output COP, the earth ground to carbon anode makes sense.

I think a good experiment would be to watch the carbon rod on the scope using pulse discharge with like 3% duty cycle and see if we can see that (+) charge we are expecting, and whether it neutralizes completely or builds to some equilbrium. I agree charge neutralization may be coming from a closed loop in the local ionized air surrounding the device.

[aleks]

We can try grounding the connecting the anode of the carbon rod (which would prevent these potentials from building up), but I'm afraid that won't solve our problem of capturing more current . . .

Have you read my proposal of all-separate multi-layer multi-segment collector with capacitors on all terminals? Such arrangement should produce displacement current energy. Just note that all terminals have "-" on them, so they should be again connected to ground or an auxiliary "zero" connection (if you have it).