4 ms·
>produces only α-particles and protons, with no neutron by-products. Magnificent use of weasel wording there. D-He3 is aneutronic, but of course a mixed plasma
by sbierwagen 4y ago
>produces only α-particles and protons, with no neutron by-products.
Magnificent use of weasel wording there. D-He3 is aneutronic, but of course a mixed plasma hot enough for that reaction is going to have tons of fusions among deuterons, producing plenty of neutrons. I'm not sure if the sky high price of helium-3 is worth just reducing the neutron output of a reactor, rather than eliminating it.
- DennisP 4y agoIt's intentionally a hybrid of D-D and D-He3. The output of D-D is half He3, and half tritium which decays to He3 with a 12-year half-life. So the only external input is actually deuterium. I've seen Helion and other say that the combined reaction will release 6% of its energy as neutron radiation. That's low enough to skip a heat cycle, which is the real benefit since it substantially lowers your capital cost. That's why Helion estimates a cost starting at $0.01/kWh, and less as they get into mass production.