Salvaged Fields: Upcycled Magnetics and the Future of Fusion Energy
What if the key to next-gen energy wasn’t in a billion-dollar tokamak… but in your local scrapyard?
1. Introduction
Buried in old microwaves, discarded CRTs, and forgotten lighting ballasts are magnetic cores capable of forming the heart of plasma reactors — the same cores that drove analog power for decades now offer a new role: driving the future of localized, clean fusion energy.
2. The Vision: Micro-Toroidal Fusion Reactors
What they are (compact, resonant field plasma devices)
Why local energy generation matters (resilience, decentralization)
Why this vision depends on affordable, reproducible parts
3. The Magic of Magnetics
Role of magnetic cores in plasma confinement and drive fields
MOTs: Workhorses of the analog power era
Toroids, flybacks, and ferrites: what they offer
4. Upcycling as Infrastructure
Where to find usable cores:
eBay
Scrap yards
Electronics recycling centers
Tools for salvaging (angle grinder, heat gun, winding jigs)
How to test a core’s viability
Safety practices (handling mains transformers, core insulation)
5. Engineering the Reactor Core
Configuring a salvaged MOT as a drive coil
Example: winding a secondary plasma coupling coil on a CRT yoke core
How ferrite and iron differ in plasma field applications
Bonus: audio-frequency compatibility (match to your oscillator)
6. Philosophy: The Ethics of Open Hardware Energy
Why open-source, salvaged-energy design is regenerative
Fusion as accessible tool, not restricted tech
The shift from artificial scarcity to collective abundance
7. How to Start
Open-source files / GitHub repo for the project
BOM from eBay links and salvage instructions
Call for collaboration (Substack comments, GitHub issues)
📸 Suggested Visuals:
Photo of stripped MOT with custom windings
Diagram of toroidal reactor layout (salvaged core + plasma tube)
Screenshot of eBay listings for usable magnetics
Before/after: MOT in microwave → MOT in reactor
🧠 Possible Closing Line:
In a world where scarcity is engineered, scrap is resistance — and the path to clean energy might already be in your garage.