3 ms·
Could they use a drone instead of manned aircrafts to address point 2? So there's no need to shield and thus saving the weight.
by riobard 13y ago
Could they use a drone instead of manned aircrafts to address point 2? So there's no need to shield and thus saving the weight.
- rdmckenzie 13y agoArguably, but the D-21 drone [1] was... a mess & a failure. Line Of Sight radio control was the only real option. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21
- ceejayoz 13y agoI'm confused. The D-21 wasn't nuclear, and we've clearly fixed the problems with drones they had during that program. What's your point?
- wtracy 13y agoUnmanned aircraft were impractical during the Cold War, which is the only point in history when nuclear-powered aircraft were seriously considered. Drones are workable now, but political considerations alone make nuclear aircraft a non-starter today.
- marcosdumay 13y agoOur computers are even more sensitive to radioactivity than our bodies. Maybe yes with a drone based on TTL or some other "old" standard. Probably no with CMOS... Well, with a nuclear plant on board, I guess one can generate enough energy for a TTL computer.
- Houshalter 13y agoBut computers don't take up nearly as much space. You would only need to shield that one specific spot where the computer was rather than the whole cockpit.
- lostlogin 13y agoWouldn't you need to shield the wiring too? That stuff goes everywhere. Im not certain on the need for this though.
- eksith 13y agoYes, every particle crossing the copper can create an anomalous signal that can switch a 0 to 1 or visa versa. If you have enough of those, the program(s) will eventually crash. On the processors themselves the L1/L2 caches are vulnerable, but beyond that, the ROM could also get corrupted making hard resets impossible even after a crash. Fiber optic cables aren't immune to this either : http://misspiggy.gsfc.nasa.gov/tva/meldoc/cabass/rad.htm http://misspiggy.gsfc.nasa.gov/tva/meldoc/cabass/rad.htm
- emiliobumachar 13y agoI think you are talking about SEUs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_event_upset http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_event_upset
- Scramblejams 13y agoIIRC some work was done to evaluate shielding only the relatively small area around the crew and avionics, saving considerable weight. However, it was soon discovered that radiation exposure can dramatically reduce the fatigue life of metallic materials. So, some (large) amount of shielding is still necessary.