fusion.power.txt

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1995 17:41:47 -0700
From: toad@ugcs.caltech.edu (Benjamin Lane)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM

Now, fusion power;
	this is a fun one - lots of semi-hard science here.

TL-9; The first Tokakmaks using magnetic confinement.
	Power conversion is through heat engines (water,
	liquid sodium, CO2 or helium)
	Fuel is Deuterium-Tritium, or He-3. Tritium
	produced by neutron bombardment or lithium.
	Laser-Inertial fusion is still not useful except
	in Daedalus drives and fusion rockets.
	Jump drive powerplants use short-duration
	intense magnetic fields (HPG-driven) to 
	boost fusion throughput to build up charge.
	These high fields allow MHD tube type power 
	conversion as well as D-D fusion. 
	see previous post for details.
TL-10; Improved magnetic confinement - supplemented by
	gravitic confinement allow higher pressures and temps.
	D-D fusion standard. 
	Heat engines still common; some thermoelectric 
	conversion used. Advantages are no moving parts, 
	higher efficiency.
	HEPlaR drives appear. These are NOT merely reheating
	of hydrogen. Instead, waste heat and radiation from the
	reactor is used to induce fusion in fuel. Gravitics 
	allow non-toroidal confinement shape, which simplifies
	thrust production. 
	Muon fusion possible for certain applications.
TL-11; Essentially as above - evolutionary improvement,
	above all more thermoelectric conversion which allows 
	smaller power plants.
	Jump drives take advantage of temporary high
	confinement pressures/temps to induce limited proton-
	proton chain fusion.
TL-12; Contiued slow development. Advances in high field-
	strength superconductors allow MHD tube energy
	conversion in long-duration applications.
	A reactor now resembles a HEPlaR drive with an MHD
	tube attached at the exhaust - the high-velocity
	"exhaust" is charged and passed through a magnet,
	creating current.
TL-13; Leap in capabilities due to new understanding and
	control of nuclear forces. Confinement shape can vary,
	spherical (radiation source) and cylindrical (MHD tube)
	common. Proton-proton chain standard. MHD type power
	conversion standard for most applications, including
	jump drive.
TL-14; Perfection of Proton Chain fusion.
	Jump drives now use resonant oscillation induced
	charge-separation of plasma (sending positive charges
	down one tube, negative down another) to build up
	potential. 
TL-15; Triple-alpha fusion used. First standard P-P chain,
	then fusing three He-4 nuclei. Charge separation 
	power conversion in all applications. 
Tl-16; Carbon catalysed fusion. CNO chain (carbon + p
	forms nitrogen. N + p forms oxygen. O + p
	reforms Carbon.