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Could we have giant nuclear reactors in space? What's the power loss from beaming down power?
by rayiner 3mo ago
Could we have giant nuclear reactors in space? What's the power loss from beaming down power?
- TeMPOraL 3mo ago> Could we have giant nuclear reactors in space? We could. The usual stumbling block is how to ship fissile material upwell without the risk of a launch failure spreading highly radioactive material over several countries. > What's the power loss from beaming down power? I think it's about 10% from atmosphere alone, but you have to add losses from other components in the system, including light -> current -> RF and RF -> current legs, and I've seen estimates ranging from 15% to 40% efficiency end to end; this random article includes breakdown with estimates, that multiplies down to 37.5% efficiency end-to-end. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/power-beaming https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sci... EDIT: This system design gives 7-14% end-to-end efficiency: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2206.08373 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2206.08373 EDIT2: Also to spell out another non-obvious aspect of beamed power, it turns out that it's not the efficiency that's the limiting factor per se, but land - you can improve efficiency by building larger rectennas, but it gets very expensive very quickly once you consider paying for land under them.
- OneDonOne 3mo agoSee: SNAP-10A BES-5 (oops, sorry 'bout that Canada!) TOPAZ-I Kiwi, Phoebus, and NRX (Mars here we come!) RD-0410 (Dossvidanya Solar System!) SP-100 TOPAZ-II Kilopower
- pantalaimon 3mo agoWe already have a giant fusion reactor in space
- TeMPOraL 3mo agoYes, and "beamed power" is exactly about tapping into it some more downwell. As outlined in other comments, it's not currently the best option.