3 ms·
This would be an even bigger deal for remote spacecraft that rely on the heat from on-board nuclear reactors.
by data-wrangler 7y ago
This would be an even bigger deal for remote spacecraft that rely on the heat from on-board nuclear reactors.
- wcoenen 7y agoI think you are thinking about an RTG instead of an actual reactor.
- RL_Quine 7y agoSome space craft have actually had full reactors on them believe it or not.
- nickpinkston 7y agoChecks out - I didn't realize we actually did fission... in... spaaaaace! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_space#Fission_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_space#Fission...
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- wcoenen 7y agoThere were indeed real nuclear reactors with thermoelectrics being launched in the cold war. However, thermoelectrics have an efficiency well below 10% (maybe a bit better with this improvement but not much). For that reason, future reactors in space will likely use Stirling engines instead.
- mechhacker 7y agoCorrect. Space stirling designs* (and tested engines) have been much more performant than the RTG designs *I spent part of my career working on these devices and saw many of them running in labs
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- IshKebab 7y agoUnlikely. Much easier to just connect the sensor to the main power supply via a wire.
- proaralyst 7y agoRTGs[0] use the thermoelectric effect to generate electricity from the decay heat of radioactive isotopes. This new material would allow better power generation using RTGs. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_ge...