Post by airc777 on Feb 13, 2019 9:09:51 GMT
On a scale of TI82 to Matrioshka Brain how difficult would it be to engineer a single nuclear core that functioned as a thermal rocket, and a power generator, and a fission bomb? Application being Inter Planetary Guided Missiles and using a single core as the thermal rocket and a power source for a magneto plasma dynamic thruster and the warhead? Or a power plant and drive system for a warship that also included a very, very good scuttling charge.
Thermal rocket / power generator cores have be discussed in other threads, so I guess the question is more about reactor cores as a weapon system. Turning a reactor into a dirty bomb is as difficult as letting it overheat, but reactor cores aren't an optimal shape for a high yield explosion, so I guess this is more specifically about how to improve the yield. My thoughts on how to achieve this being something to the effect of adding something like a Teller-Ulam secondary stage to the side of the hot core, separated by some form of neutron reflector door. Shape charge on the opposite side of the hot core to ensure the secondary gets triggered properly.