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Post by newageofpower on May 3, 2017 14:15:50 GMT
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Post by samchiu2000 on May 3, 2017 15:08:55 GMT
Is all the equations we need to build it available? If yes, we may be able to add to the game~
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Post by dragonkid11 on May 3, 2017 15:22:41 GMT
Wait, this thing just shoved a nuclear reactor right into the laser?
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Post by newageofpower on May 4, 2017 3:16:53 GMT
No other thoughts/comments on this? matterbeam? There's a bunch of very sciency guys around here...
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Post by bigbombr on May 4, 2017 6:00:43 GMT
Sounds crazy, this would fit right in. However, wouldn't neutron embrittlement be an issue? Transmuting your cavity walls into something less reflective sound like a surefire way to break your laser.
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Post by n2maniac on May 4, 2017 7:08:53 GMT
YESSSSS, I am not the only one to have thought of this...
Presumably there is some reason this is not regularly done IRL (possibly the critical mass of weapons-grade uranium as nothing more than a mere laser). At any rate, interesting possibilities. Some things to note:
-UF6 is a mild fluorinating agent. -Heat transfer is a pain. -Optical surfaces may be a challenge (would need a way to reduce neutron flux substantially near these)
Someone would need to find a good amount of data on lasing media for this (or use ingame ones, make some assumptions, and completely ignore compatibility issues).
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Post by newageofpower on May 4, 2017 8:15:22 GMT
Sounds crazy, this would fit right in. However, wouldn't neutron embrittlement be an issue? Transmuting your cavity walls into something less reflective sound like a surefire way to break your laser. Your laser has a limited lifespan anyhow, due to fuel criticality requirements. Just design the fuel to deplete before neutron fatigue has sufficiently degraded your dielectric graphene-based cavity walls ;p Or use materials with multiple stable isotopes. For example, one of Gadolinium's advantages over Lithium-6 is that multiple other isotopes of Gadolinium also have gigantic nuclear cross sections, thus neutron "aging" of a plate of such material would not reduce the protective properties of the material to dangerous levels, at least on a timescale relevant to reactor lifespans. Plus, Gd-154 to Gd-160 are all stable and chemically identical. Or have resurfacing the cavity be part of refuelling and maintenance procedures. It might be easy depending on how advanced CoADE molecular printing is. -UF6 is a mild fluorinating agent. -Heat transfer is a pain. IIRC, UF 6 is a pretty strong oxidizer above 1200K. This means a hypothetical 3600k laser may have very limited lifespans =D Heat transfer issues can be mitigated by using temperature tolerant designs. Also, I found more SCIENCE! (Even better, actually, a consolidated engineering review paper) on the topic. Check out the updated OP.
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Post by matterbeam on May 4, 2017 9:01:45 GMT
I asked a laser engineering expert, Luke Campbell, a while back. Here's the Google+ thread:
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Post by matterbeam on May 4, 2017 9:02:40 GMT
Basically, you'll need some sort of gas loop where hot uranium gas is run through a hypersonic expander (basically, a closed rocket engine) to produce infrared light for cheap.
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Post by dragonkid11 on May 4, 2017 9:21:56 GMT
Great, so it's a nuclear pumped laser that is also a internal nuclear thermal rocket.
This is fucking insane, I want it.
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Post by Enderminion on May 4, 2017 12:03:05 GMT
Luke Campbell is the same person who claimed diamond decomposes into graphite at 1700k...
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Post by The Astronomer on May 4, 2017 12:05:04 GMT
Luke Campbell is the same person who claimed diamond decomposes into graphite at 1700k... There's some interesting thing here...
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Post by Enderminion on May 4, 2017 12:19:47 GMT
Luke Campbell is the same person who claimed diamond decomposes into graphite at 1700k... There's some interesting thing here... newageofpower has strong feelings about this topic
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Post by newageofpower on May 4, 2017 12:41:12 GMT
Luke Campbell is the same person who claimed diamond decomposes into graphite at 1700k... It does. Really? That's news to me.
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Post by bigbombr on May 4, 2017 13:57:33 GMT
The laser operates between 351 K and 656 K, so radiator area would be huge. The temperature is so low that it probably wouldn't be offset by the lack of external power required. Essentially, you wouldn't need a powerful reactor, but your total radiator surface would probably be larger. A more conventional setup seems better, that way you can also use the nucleair power to drive a MPDT for cruising, save on radiator surface and your laser can at worst melt, instead of melting down. The best nucleair pumped lasers in this paper appear to use UF 6-gas, which is lower density meaning your volume is large. Then again, if someone mods it in (or if it gets added to the game), I'd be all too happy to test it out.
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