4 ms·

If this microwave drill is vaporizing rock, how do they keep the vapor from re-condensing on the drill, wave guide, and shaft walls and eventually closing up th

by krunck 2y ago

If this microwave drill is vaporizing rock, how do they keep the vapor from re-condensing on the drill, wave guide, and shaft walls and eventually closing up the spaces between them causing things to get stuck?>

Terr_ 2y ago
Did some (metaphorical) digging, and it sounds like they expect most of the rock to condense as small particles inside a purge-gas, before it has a chance to adhere somewhere else. I imagine walls are an easier problem--just advance fast-enough compared to the deposition rate, and the thickening is controlled. Not sure about gradual buildup on the wave-guide, but some periodic cleaning mechanism (further back, away from rock-condensation) might be possible. ____________ > Even though the rocks are being vaporized, it does not mean that there is no material to be taken care of. “The gas will quickly recondense back to a very fine ash, which will then be taken up to surface by a purge gas. In our case, we will use nitrogen”, Matt [Houde] explains. https://geoexpro.com/an-order-of-magnitude-more-energy-for-drilling-twice-as-deep/ https://geoexpro.com/an-order-of-magnitude-more-energy-for-d... > MIT’s Paul Woskov, whose research is the bedrock of Quaise’s approach, spent a decade proving out the physics involved. The system will use a beam of millimeter-wave energy—an electromagnetic frequency in the territory of microwaves—generated by a gyrotron on the surface. The microwave beam shoots down the drill hole alongside a gas—nitrogen, air, or argon—and evaporates layers of rock deep in the Earth. Then the gas binds and carries the vaporized rock back up to the surface like a plume of volcanic ash. https://singularityhub.com/2022/02/14/startup-aims-to-drill-12-miles-into-earths-crust-to-tap-the-boundless-energy-below/ https://singularityhub.com/2022/02/14/startup-aims-to-drill-...
- baking 2y ago
  There is a stand-off between the end of the waveguide and the bottom of the hole which prevents damage to the waveguide. It also causes the beam to spread out so the hole is made wider than the waveguide.
TheDudeMan 2y ago
Likely condenses into dust in midair and gets blown out.

by krunck 2y ago

Terr_ 2y ago

Did some (metaphorical) digging, and it sounds like they expect most of the rock to condense as small particles inside a purge-gas, before it has a chance to adhere somewhere else. I imagine walls are an easier problem--just advance fast-enough compared to the deposition rate, and the thickening is controlled. Not sure about gradual buildup on the wave-guide, but some periodic cleaning mechanism (further back, away from rock-condensation) might be possible. ____________ > Even though the rocks are being vaporized, it does not mean that there is no material to be taken care of. “The gas will quickly recondense back to a very fine ash, which will then be taken up to surface by a purge gas. In our case, we will use nitrogen”, Matt [Houde] explains. https://geoexpro.com/an-order-of-magnitude-more-energy-for-drilling-twice-as-deep/ https://geoexpro.com/an-order-of-magnitude-more-energy-for-d... > MIT’s Paul Woskov, whose research is the bedrock of Quaise’s approach, spent a decade proving out the physics involved. The system will use a beam of millimeter-wave energy—an electromagnetic frequency in the territory of microwaves—generated by a gyrotron on the surface. The microwave beam shoots down the drill hole alongside a gas—nitrogen, air, or argon—and evaporates layers of rock deep in the Earth. Then the gas binds and carries the vaporized rock back up to the surface like a plume of volcanic ash. https://singularityhub.com/2022/02/14/startup-aims-to-drill-12-miles-into-earths-crust-to-tap-the-boundless-energy-below/ https://singularityhub.com/2022/02/14/startup-aims-to-drill-...

baking 2y ago
There is a stand-off between the end of the waveguide and the bottom of the hole which prevents damage to the waveguide. It also causes the beam to spread out so the hole is made wider than the waveguide.

TheDudeMan 2y ago

Likely condenses into dust in midair and gets blown out.