That's interesting that EPRI is involved. I didn't realize they were into that kind of thing. I wonder if the Department of Energy is involved. It seems more like their kind of thing.
Yes and no -- it's not a teakettle-type drive: the fusion reaction is spitting out very high-speed mass directly, accelerated way, way up there. "Beam conditioning" steals a little energy from it in the form of electricity and allows some aiming.
So your reaction mass is whatever you are shoveling into the fusion reactor, Ghu only knows how once the torch is lit. It doesn't have to be nearly so much mass because it is getting shoved so hard.
It'll be a happy day for Farnsworth and Tesla, 'cos the containment's just about got to have an electrostatic component. Hair-raising? Oh, my....
It occurs to me that if this works, NASA's gonna have to name the first three ships the E. E. Smith, Ph.D., the John W. Campbell and the Robert A. Heinlein. There ain't no other way.
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Odd coincidence. I've just finished rereading John McPhee's take on the Ted Taylor/George Dyson 1960s and '70s work on nuclear space engines.
ReplyDeleteSweet! Can a Mr. Fusion be far away?
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting that EPRI is involved. I didn't realize they were into that kind of thing. I wonder if the Department of Energy is involved. It seems more like their kind of thing.
This is a thermal drive, no?
ReplyDeleteThey'll be passing a reaction mass past the fusion kernel to heat it up, correct?
Yes and no -- it's not a teakettle-type drive: the fusion reaction is spitting out very high-speed mass directly, accelerated way, way up there. "Beam conditioning" steals a little energy from it in the form of electricity and allows some aiming.
ReplyDeleteSo your reaction mass is whatever you are shoveling into the fusion reactor, Ghu only knows how once the torch is lit. It doesn't have to be nearly so much mass because it is getting shoved so hard.
It'll be a happy day for Farnsworth and Tesla, 'cos the containment's just about got to have an electrostatic component. Hair-raising? Oh, my....
It occurs to me that if this works, NASA's gonna have to name the first three ships the E. E. Smith, Ph.D., the John W. Campbell and the Robert A. Heinlein. There ain't no other way.
ReplyDelete