robkelk Wrote:Quote:How
would I compete against antimatter reactors using nuclear reactions?
Hrm...
Don't be there when it goes off.
Luckily for you, this is something that the Midnight is good
at...
This got me going on this train of thought. Bear with me here...
The engines do just fine. The design is absolutely wonderful when it comes to getting maximum bang for the buck , thus making them nearly peerless in the field of propulsion technologies. The issue that I've got my mind on is energy throughput of the reactors. A normal fission reaction can't hold a candle (literally!) to an anti-matter reaction. Therefore, it stands to reason that Fenspace!Ben would have to come up with a new sort of nuclear fission - either something radically different and probably highly dangerous... or a wholly different method of capturing the energy (some means of direct-energy conversion perhaps).
I'm opting for the former as it would fit in with well within the Handwavium's abilities. I also wouldn't put it past the 'Wave to make the reaction process more efficient.
*Thinks for a moment, adopting the pose of
The Problem...*
Here we go. A reactor that utilizes direct conversion of radiation bombardment and thermal energy into usable electricity (or electro-plasma for the Trekkies out there). Additionally, the fuel comes in the form of traditional fuel rods... but with a twist. The fuel is progressively expended, turning to completely inert components as it passes through the reactor, much like burning a candle. There is not radioactive waste whatsoever and the remnants can be easily reprocessed into useful materials like DU ammunition (with the added benefit of being totally inert - no more worries of radiation poisening from ammo handling).
The name? Cool Cuke Reactor. The housing, due to it's thermal conversion, is cool to the touch even when running above red-line (the danger there being that you might cook-off the whole damn stack). Therefore, it's cool as the proverbial cucumber. Also, it's a cool nuke, therefore Cuke = Nuke. I know, terrible pun, but it works.
Thoughts?
Sounds Fennish enough to me.
A note you might add, given certain bits of history: Stonewell-Bellcom has tried to license the technology, and been repeatedly turned down. (Their primary power tech involves using gravitic fields to induce sufficient pressure for fusion to happen, which is all well and good but requires a fairly large power input to 'jump-start' a reactor. Which makes it kind of impractical when you're dealing with something small, like a fighter, that can't carry a big battery around with it...)
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
Well, that's Fusion, not Fission. Also... that may be feasible, only their jets would require external assistance for startup, as many older models have in the past.
Exactly my point. The Valkyrie - as built by Stonewell-Bellcom of Greenwood - does require an external power source at startup, and a fairly hefty one, too.
Your reactor design wouldn't, and would probably (given what you're using them in) be more compact.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
... They're gonna be green with envy, aren't they? Oh well, not like Fenspace!Ben isn't willing to sell them off for a modest profit. Gotta keep the company going, after all.
Which leaves Marsden's design team stuck with the unenviable decision of choosing between tradeoffs.
Fusion: Locally built, fuel easy to get but hard to store, requires large external power source for startup.
Fission: Externally purchased, fuel not easy to get and dangerous to store, but lasts a LOT longer between fill-ups and doesn't require an external power source to start.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
If Marsden's willing to give Ben a sweet deal on some of his Stonewell/Bellcom birds, then Ben'd be willing to fork over the needed reactors, complete with fuel handling... Though the actual refueling will have to be done by his staff.
Fortunately, nuclear fuel in and of itself is pretty damn stable as long as you don't store too much in one spot (gotta keep those criticality levels nice and low) and the 'waved fuel rods are even more stabilized. Keep it in the 'waved rad-hazard containers until needed and it's just fine. As for handling, handwaved Dupont Tyvec 'poopy-suits' are highly effective rad-Hazard suits (and not to mention bio/chem hazards) and can be reused over the course of a significant abount of exposure time.
Hrm... Speaking of criticality, I think I'm getting to the point of having enough material for a decent Fen-Wiki artical. More to come later.