3 ms·

At a practical level, your initial instinct was right. In space, nobody can feel you convect. Essentially all of the waste heat has to be disposed of via radiat

At a practical level, your initial instinct was right. In space, nobody can feel you convect. Essentially all of the waste heat has to be disposed of via radiation, and this is orders of magnitude less effective than convection at the temperatures that any known material can withstand. Worse, you don't have to radiate "just" the waste heat. Eventually, all of your electric energy becomes heat, too. In other words, all of the energy you extract from your decay source will end up as heat that you have to get rid of via radiation. (Well, you could wind a giant spring, I suppose. But, a spring that large would be a better radiator than energy storage device.)

woodandsteel 8y ago
>In space, nobody can feel you convect. I know I'm on HN, as opposed to one of the political sites I read, when I run across that sort of remark.
Baeocystin 8y ago
All that being said (and true!), you also have a very cold sink to reject waste heat to, whether you want to or not. The end result is that heating is as much an issue as cooling. Thus spacecraft usually wind up with blankets and radiators, both. :) Here's a detailed look at the thermal control system for the ISS, for the curious: https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/473486main_iss_atcs_overview.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/473486main_iss_atcs_overview.pdf