2 ms·
> In sunny places (and I fully acknowledge that's not all of the world) it's still going to be hard to beat sticking bits of special glass out in a field and co
by slightwinder 2y ago
> In sunny places (and I fully acknowledge that's not all of the world) it's still going to be hard to beat sticking bits of special glass out in a field and connecting wires to it.
Why not both? Can't we utilize the special glass to fetch energy from a man-made fusion reactor, in similar ways as we use it to fetch energy from the natural fusion reactor in space?
- pyrale 2y agoTreating this as a serious question: because the big reactor in the sky has a built-in gravity well and a very big sphere of vacuum that works as a free containment system while still letting just enough energy out to be useful. Also we don’t need to refill it or handle the spent fuel.
- nine_k 2y agoNo. D + T or D + D fusion reaction produces neutrons and hard gamma radiation. The special glass cannot capture the energy of these directly. The natural fusion reactor has a blanket that is literally thousands of kilometers thick. It effectively converts much of this into longer-wavelength electromagnetic radiation, from ultraviolet to infrared, with quite some visible light. That's what the special glass can make use of. Also, the highly radioactive blanket is kept hundreds of millions km away from consumers, which helps alleviate the problem of disposing of radioactive waste. With a planet-based fusion reactor, we'd have to think where to put thousands and thousands of tons of slightly radioactive concrete which would realistically serve as a blanket.
- thehappypm 2y agoIn theory, yes. Those are called radiovoltaics and are being researched.