3 ms·
> For a practical reactor we need Q around 30 Did we figure out how we could harness the energy released? It appears to me that all current research are about
by Aperocky 5y ago
> For a practical reactor we need Q around 30
Did we figure out how we could harness the energy released? It appears to me that all current research are about maximizing Q without really looking at how the energy will be converted into usable form.
- DennisP 5y agoFor D-T fusion, the output is 80% neutrons, so the only option is to let them heat something to run a turbine. You also need the neutrons for breeding the tritium, so you let your breeding blanket heat up and run coolant pipes through that. Commonwealth plans to use molten FLiBe salt as the breeding blanket and first loop of coolant. Aneutronic fusion produces fast-moving charged particles instead of neutrons, so if anyone gets that working, we could extract electricity without a thermal cycle.