11-21-2018, 10:39 AM | #21 | |
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: near Seattle WA USA
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Re: waste heat
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But I don't think radiative heat disposal is entirely out of reach as a hand-wave. Yes, a power plant that generates lots of useful energy without radiators that are much cooler than the fusion chamber temperature are impossible by known thermodynamics; you have a choice between huge, low-temperature radiators and lots of useful power or small, really hot radiators but not much useful power. But with a super-science hand-wave, why not a small, hot radiator for a power plant that still generates plenty of useful power? Or internal systems that use lots of power without generating lots of waste heat? Or a combination, where almost all weapon energy goes out the weapon, but other systems behave more realistically? All violate known thermodynamics, of course. But reactionless drives violate known conservation of momentum, by definition. Given that gravitic super-science already violates conservation of momentum, it seems like a reasonable hand-wave to say that gravitics can also violate thermodynamics in a way that works as a compact radiator. Dump the waste heat through the maneuver drives, and you have an excuse for the glowing circles in a lot of science fiction illustrations. |
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11-21-2018, 11:03 AM | #22 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: waste heat
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We can get around this by assuming most energy capture from power plants is done by non-thermal means (this requires neutronless fusion), but there's a separate problem: internal waste heat (other than what's required for power generation). There, if you want a radiator that's hotter than the component you're cooling, you need a heat pump (which requires energy), potentially causing the power consumption of things like energy weapons to balloon. |
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11-21-2018, 12:21 PM | #23 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: waste heat
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Store enough power for 60 shots but recharge on the basis of a day rather than a minute and your power plant slice devoted to energy weapons shrinks by a factor of 24.
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Fred Brackin |
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11-21-2018, 12:31 PM | #24 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: waste heat
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11-22-2018, 04:23 PM | #25 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: God's Own Country
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Re: waste heat
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Yeah, one of the first things I built when playing with more starship build modules was a 'Stored Power' chunk that was basically a big-arse battery and associated power control and fire suppression systems. I had to put limitations on it for weapon use or it allowed even the heaviest non-spinal-mount energy weapon to act as a machine gun for a space round or two. This came across as a bit broken.
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Paul May | MIB 1138 (on hiatus) |
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