To: ckilmer
Boeing's new jet engine works by firing high-power lasers at radioactive material, such as deuterium and tritium.
The lasers vaporize the radioactive material and cause a fusion reaction — in effect a small thermonuclear explosion.
Hydrogen or helium are the exhaust byproducts, which exit the back of the engine under high pressure. Thrust is produced.
At the same time, the inside wall of the engine's thruster chamber — coated in uranium 238 — reacts with the high-energy neutrons produced by the nuclear reaction and generates immense heat.
The engine harnesses the heat by running coolant along the other side of the the uranium-coated combustion chamber.
This heat-energized coolant is sent through a turbine and generator that produces electricity to power the engine's lasers. Yes, lasers!
Other than the radioactive material, the engine requires very little in terms of external energy.
2 posted on
07/12/2015 5:21:05 PM PDT by
ckilmer
(q)
To: ckilmer
I wonder how much fuel would be needed. Takes a breeder reactor to get much tritium/deuterium, right?
3 posted on
07/12/2015 5:26:39 PM PDT by
Rio
(Proud resident of the State of Jefferson)
To: ckilmer
Hmmmm, a chamber lined with U-238 to enclose a D-T fusion reaction.
Now, where have I heard about such an arrangement before?
To: ckilmer
Amazing.
No statement on what form the Fusionable materials are in, how they are transported to the combustion chamber and how much the craft has to carry for envisioned speed and distance.
What happens if they flood the carburetor? Bang?
lol
6 posted on
07/12/2015 5:30:40 PM PDT by
Mariner
(War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
To: ckilmer
Sounds in broad stroke doable but I’d want to read the fine print before booking the first trip.
15 posted on
07/12/2015 5:47:31 PM PDT by
JimSEA
To: ckilmer
Boy, if the tin foil crowd whines about contrails now, just wait until winter snow falls glow in the dark.
To: ckilmer
God, their technical writing sucks ass. Sure, the article on it had crappy writing, but sheesh, the patent abstract? It’s like a 1970’s Datsun manual translator wrote it...
24 posted on
07/12/2015 6:43:46 PM PDT by
Axenolith
(Government blows, and that which governs least, blows least...)
To: ckilmer
If my casual reading of the fusion T + D = 4He + n + 17.6 MeV reaction is correct, a neutron is also released. Hope they have good shielding for the passengers sitting next to an ongoing neutron bomb.
To: ckilmer
It’s powered by a “Laser”.
37 posted on
07/12/2015 8:35:19 PM PDT by
BRK
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