3 ms·
What’s meaningful about power density as a metric for reactors?
by pcl 7y ago
What’s meaningful about power density as a metric for reactors?
- pfdietz 7y agoPower density determines size (for a given power output), which is strongly correlated with cost. Simply put, larger machines are more expensive than smaller ones. And cost is the showstopper for fusion, not the comparatively shallower issues of plasma physics.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- IanCal 7y agoCost also rapidly translates iteration time too. The bigger you get, the more expensive it is and the more you need larger groups or collaborations, which means more politics. If you can shrink the reactor enough you can go from requiring governments to work together to just needing a single company.
- evancox100 7y agoI'd assume it's a decent proxy for cost. It would also be an important metric for mobile reactor usage