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We're closer to building a Dyson swarm today then we are to workable fusion reactors though - as in, we technically have the technology and means to start build
by XorNot 3y ago
We're closer to building a Dyson swarm today then we are to workable fusion reactors though - as in, we technically have the technology and means to start building one right now - a series of solar-harvesting satellites in Earth-halo orbits beaming microwave power back towards us.
It would be inefficient, but there is no physical reason we couldn't do it.
The other problem is scale: Dyson swarm power levels are orders of magnitude greater then the amount of deuterium in the Earth's oceans. At those sort of levels, you can't use fusion because you don't have the fuel.
Finally, based on what we know there's some real problems with compact fusion: ITER and other big vacuum vessels are because we're at the materials science limits of how strong magnets can be without destroying themselves.
- TheLoafOfBread 3y agoThe first problem with microwave beam is that it can be used as a weapon and will be treated as such. So I don't believe it will get over prototype test phase before being banned like nukes. Additionally the further you are going to be from such beam, the less energy you will get from it. So transferring any energy from the Sun will be extremely inefficient endeavor. Another big problem with nodes in Dyson swarm is heat, or the inability to get rid of it. They need to be close to the star so they can get as much energy as possible so they will heat up by position, but also modulate this energy and transfer it further, which won't happen without loses. So nodes can be constructed on gigawatt output but in reality be able to do fraction of that, otherwise they would fry itself up.