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Penguino
Penguino
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Fusion reactors (well at least Tokomak design reactors) operate at a relatively low pressure - to the order of 2-3 atmospheres. And they have plasma volumes to the order of 100-1000 cubic meters (the latter enough to produce ~500 mWMW continuously). So there is just not a lot of plasma in one.

You could propose an upscaled reactor to produce 500 GW - this would be larger and/or would operate at much higher pressure - but even that would only contain ~10^6 cubic meters of atmospheric pressure gas (and why would even a giant space-bound reactor need that much power?).

The plasma is very hot, but its temperature would be of little/no advantage in shielding against fast moving solid slugs. In fact, it would be a disadvantage as the hot gas would dissipate into the vacuum of space faster than would a normal cold gas. And a gas is, in general, not a very efficient way to stop/slow/shield-from a projectile unless you have to the order of many km of gas to do so.

Your (top end volume) million cubic meters of gas has a volume not much larger than a big hot air balloon ~100m in diameter - so unless you can imagine said balloon stopping the projectile dead, your plasma shield is doomed to failure.

Fusion reactors (well at least Tokomak design reactors) operate at a relatively low pressure - to the order of 2-3 atmospheres. And they have plasma volumes to the order of 100-1000 cubic meters (the latter enough to produce ~500 mW continuously). So there is just not a lot of plasma in one.

You could propose an upscaled reactor to produce 500 GW - this would be larger and/or would operate at much higher pressure - but even that would only contain ~10^6 cubic meters of atmospheric pressure gas (and why would even a giant space-bound reactor need that much power?).

The plasma is very hot, but its temperature would be of little/no advantage in shielding against fast moving solid slugs. In fact, it would be a disadvantage as the hot gas would dissipate into the vacuum of space faster than would a normal cold gas. And a gas is, in general, not a very efficient way to stop/slow/shield-from a projectile unless you have to the order of many km of gas to do so.

Your (top end volume) million cubic meters of gas has a volume not much larger than a big hot air balloon ~100m in diameter - so unless you can imagine said balloon stopping the projectile dead, your plasma shield is doomed to failure.

Fusion reactors (well at least Tokomak design reactors) operate at a relatively low pressure - to the order of 2-3 atmospheres. And they have plasma volumes to the order of 100-1000 cubic meters (the latter enough to produce ~500 MW continuously). So there is just not a lot of plasma in one.

You could propose an upscaled reactor to produce 500 GW - this would be larger and/or would operate at much higher pressure - but even that would only contain ~10^6 cubic meters of atmospheric pressure gas (and why would even a giant space-bound reactor need that much power?).

The plasma is very hot, but its temperature would be of little/no advantage in shielding against fast moving solid slugs. In fact, it would be a disadvantage as the hot gas would dissipate into the vacuum of space faster than would a normal cold gas. And a gas is, in general, not a very efficient way to stop/slow/shield-from a projectile unless you have to the order of many km of gas to do so.

Your (top end volume) million cubic meters of gas has a volume not much larger than a big hot air balloon ~100m in diameter - so unless you can imagine said balloon stopping the projectile dead, your plasma shield is doomed to failure.

Source Link
Penguino
Penguino
  • 7.6k
  • 21
  • 31

Fusion reactors (well at least Tokomak design reactors) operate at a relatively low pressure - to the order of 2-3 atmospheres. And they have plasma volumes to the order of 100-1000 cubic meters (the latter enough to produce ~500 mW continuously). So there is just not a lot of plasma in one.

You could propose an upscaled reactor to produce 500 GW - this would be larger and/or would operate at much higher pressure - but even that would only contain ~10^6 cubic meters of atmospheric pressure gas (and why would even a giant space-bound reactor need that much power?).

The plasma is very hot, but its temperature would be of little/no advantage in shielding against fast moving solid slugs. In fact, it would be a disadvantage as the hot gas would dissipate into the vacuum of space faster than would a normal cold gas. And a gas is, in general, not a very efficient way to stop/slow/shield-from a projectile unless you have to the order of many km of gas to do so.

Your (top end volume) million cubic meters of gas has a volume not much larger than a big hot air balloon ~100m in diameter - so unless you can imagine said balloon stopping the projectile dead, your plasma shield is doomed to failure.