Good analysis. You saved me the trouble of writing it up. When I got to the line about fusion without neutron emission, I knew the whole thing was Bravo Sierra.
> When I got to the line about fusion without neutron emission, I knew the whole thing was Bravo Sierra.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusion
For the tests Bussard was doing in 2005, he was performing pulsed deuterium/deuterium fusion, which produces neutrons, and getting 100,000 times as many neutrons as conventional Farnsworth fusors would under similar conditions.
Bussard believes that his design will be capable of fusing protons with Boron-11, which does not produce neutrons. That is much more difficult, and some experts don’t think it will be possible. But even if his polywell fusor will only work with D-D or D-T, it would still be more likely to be cost-competitive with fission power than a ITER-style tokamak.
Bussard is in failing health, and he doesn’t expect to live more than a few more years. He wishes to see his dreams achieve fruit before he dies.