4 ms·
Thermodynamics. You need a temperature gradient to extract useful work.
by TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
Thermodynamics. You need a temperature gradient to extract useful work.
- chrisseaton 7y agoIf you want a temperature gradient then you want the reactor as hot as you can and the condenser as cool as you can, so I still don’t understand why you want to cool the reactor?
- Armisael16 7y agoThe cooling system is also how you extract energy from the reactor. Anything you do to extract energy will have this effect; if it didn’t you’d have a perpetual motion machine.
- chrisseaton 7y agoThe cooling sounds like a side-effect then. The goal isn't to cool for the sake of it. You want the energy out of it. If you just want a cooling system you could spray water onto it and let the steam escape. That'd be an effective cooling system. What people really mean is that they want to usefully extract the energy.
- Armisael16 7y agoIn an ideal reactor, yes. In a real-world reactor the cooling is also essential because you built your reactor out of things with a melting point.