90 ms·
Dumb question here, but how is the actual power transmitted to the grid? I get we are trying to have some sustained reaction with plasma inside a magnetic field
by saberience 6y ago
Dumb question here, but how is the actual power transmitted to the grid? I get we are trying to have some sustained reaction with plasma inside a magnetic field... but that just makes heat, not electricity.
Other reactor types have water to heat up and make steam but where does this happen in a Fusion reactor? It seems as though there is no obvious "place" for there to be water to turn into steam.
Again, sorry for dumb question.
- nucpal 6y agoIt's not a dumb question. The answer is kinda dumb though, most working fusion reactors don't have a way to extract heat yet. But the plan is to use the same turbine (heat water into steam) technology from fission reactors. So you have cutting edge plasma physics in one part of the reactor and old school victorian-era steam turbines in the other.
- imtringued 6y agoSo it all boils down to boiling water?
- tiborsaas 6y agoYes, it's just a mindbogglingly complex and advanced steam engine :)
- 0xffff2 6y agoWe really only have a few ways to generate electricity: - PV solar generates electricity more or less directly - Wind turbines use mechanical energy from the wind to spin a turbine - Hydro converts potential energy to kinetic energy to spin a turbine - Nearly every other form of generation in existence heats water to create steam and uses that steam to spin a turbine.
- yohannparis 6y agoTo be fair, todays steam engine are marvel of efficiency and reliability and water-cooling is a perfected science. Almost nothing is has easy to manage and powerful as steam.