3 ms·
It's actually a lot less energy than it sounds like. The temperatures will hit 10-100 times the temperature of the sun, but the density inside will be very very
by aqme28 13y ago
It's actually a lot less energy than it sounds like. The temperatures will hit 10-100 times the temperature of the sun, but the density inside will be very very low. This thing couldn't vaporize a car.
Remember, this is only a 500 megawatt device, and the reaction is so unstable that if it somehow escapes the containment of the device it dies instantly. It can't "run away" like some fission reactions can.
edit: Not actually sure how much energy it takes to "vaporize a car in seconds." In terms of energy this thing is roughly equivalent to any other fairly large power plant.
- benjamta 13y agoExactly right. Fusion is not at all like nuclear fission. It's so incredibly hard to maintain the reaction that any catastrophic failure stops everything. There's no unrequested fission surplus situation possible here...
- Florin_Andrei 13y ago> but the density inside will be very very low The density is not that low, but the total amount of ultra-hot matter is pretty small. If magnetic confinement is lost, the plasma will expand and cool; there is no sustained fusion without the confinement. The core would probably be wrecked, but that's about it.
- aqme28 13y ago"The density is not that low, but the total amount of ultra-hot matter is pretty small." I'm sorry but I don't understand the distinction.
- dragonwriter 13y ago> I'm sorry but I don't understand the distinction. While its contained, the density is not that low; if it loses containment, the density will become low as it expands. At least, that's my understanding of the distinction here.
- aqme28 13y agoIt's more about containing it within the walls of the container than within a very small subsection of the container. The whole thing will be at a pretty serious vacuum throughout operation. I should probably disclaim: I worked on a Tokamak in undergrad.