- #1
Al_
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- TL;DR Summary
- I was interested to come across the concept of a Fission Fragment rocket. Wikipedia has a good article, and there are some studies by NASA. Can there be a design that functions without a heavy moderator using U235?
a dusty plasma design : https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/718391main_Werka_2011_PhI_FFRE.pdf
has nuclear fuel held in place by electromagnetic fields. It uses a very massive moderator around the fuel to slow and reflect neutrons back to the fuel, to enable continued fission. But, there is one kind of fuel that does not need a moderator: U235. Could this be controlled by expanding the plasma density, and prevented from going critical and exploding? Saving 30 tonnes by having no moderator, would make the engine much lighter, and saving the need to cool the moderator with huge radiators.
has nuclear fuel held in place by electromagnetic fields. It uses a very massive moderator around the fuel to slow and reflect neutrons back to the fuel, to enable continued fission. But, there is one kind of fuel that does not need a moderator: U235. Could this be controlled by expanding the plasma density, and prevented from going critical and exploding? Saving 30 tonnes by having no moderator, would make the engine much lighter, and saving the need to cool the moderator with huge radiators.