3 ms·
Transition off of it? Dont we need it for superconducting coolant and some other things?
by hypercube33 3y ago
Transition off of it? Dont we need it for superconducting coolant and some other things?
- bonestamp2 3y agoYes. MRI machines need it, although I guess that kind of falls into the superconductor category. But I call that use case out because it's probably a good idea to have the government, or some trusted caretaker, look after at least two strategic stockpiles.
- westurner 3y agoFWIU Nuclear Fusion can use (and produce) 4He ('He4') as fuel. I think it makes sense to retain our nation's helium reserves.
- twarge 3y agoYou are thinking of helium-3, of which there is none stored here. It is very much harder to fuse helium-4.
- westurner 3y agoI think it's both Helium-3 and Helium-4? (Tritium (3H) decays into 3He with a 12 year half life. Before 12*n years, tritium is radioactive and denser than water and so it will pool and concentrate in ocean cavities for example at the seafloor. Tritium also probably has affinity for certain types of trash floating in the ocean, which Seabin and The Ocean Cleanup are addressing.) Is laser-based nuclear transmutation of e.g. He4 into He3 easier with the high heat of a nuclear fusion reaction? Helion's fusion process involves both He3 and He4: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37403522 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37403522