Quote:
Originally Posted by wellspring
BTW, how does a fission reactor work in space in the first place? Do you have to rotate it for gravity, or does it use something other than convection to operate?
|
In most designs the working fluid (water or molten sodium) is pumped through the core and the heat exchanger. Convection is not significant.
And then there is the
radioisotope thermoelectric generator, a simple design using thermocouples to generate small current but with immense endurance. A subcritical mass of radioisotope keeps one end of each thermocouple hot, and a radiator keeps the other ends cool. An E.M.F. is produced. No moving parts, no circulating fluid. Heat is removed by conduction to the radiator. Power:mass ratio is not impressive, but energy:mass is pretty good, and endurance is decades. These