3 ms·
Given that the plasma is several million degrees, it will radiate a lot of energy and heat up the walls even if it does not directly touch them. Just cooling th
by WJW 3y ago
Given that the plasma is several million degrees, it will radiate a lot of energy and heat up the walls even if it does not directly touch them. Just cooling the walls can heat up the cooling fluid enough to later produce steam with. AFAIK the Wendelstein machine is not configured for electricity production though, so the cooling is just cooling atm.
- jeffbee 3y ago> Given that the plasma is several million degrees, it will radiate a lot of energy That doesn't entirely follow. 2 particles whizzing past each other at relativistic speeds have extreme temperatures but don't offer much energy. Mass is in this equation.
- willis936 3y agoWhat if you have 10^20 particles? Each charged particle emits photons with energy/frequency proportional to their speed (Bremsstrahlung). This is mostly from electrons because they are much lighter and so are much hotter/faster. Plasmas are quasineutral though so you'll have those electrons present. There is a long line of research trying to get away from that constraint with little luck so far (but it should continue to be worked on!). Jumpjng back up the stack: photon radiation is mostly considered a loss since it transfers energy out of confinement and does not impart it on other fuel. You nominally extract your heat via neutrons: same as fission reactors. Some designs (Helion) aim for reactions with charged byproducts. The reaction produces a current that can be coupled by a surrounding coil, much like a transformer but powered by current induced by plasma rather than another copper wire.