5 ms·
I wonder how you’d transfer the heat without exposing the steep to radiation. I assume that would be bad anyways. I wish I paid attention more in physics, would
by malwrar 3y ago
I wonder how you’d transfer the heat without exposing the steep to radiation. I assume that would be bad anyways. I wish I paid attention more in physics, would love to know how such a system could be built.
- db48x 3y agoA trivial heat exchanger does that, and every nuclear power plant already has one.
- dpe82 3y agoToday we avoid radiating electric generation equipment by running two steam loops through a heat exchanger; one that interacts with the hot reactor and a second that spins the generators. Perhaps you could do similar with molten salt loops? Might be tough finding a material that would work as an exchanger at the required temperatures though. Just using electricity is probably cheaper and easier; large power plants are crazy efficient already.
- nine_k 3y agoThorium-based reactors famously are constrained by the lack of such material which would withstand the contact with hot molten salt, especially somewhat radioactive.
- xorcist 3y agoAs anyone with a boat knows, salt water is insanely corrosive and gets into everything. Even large container ships have to be regularly serviced. I can only what hot molten salt does to industrial processes.