Fusion Cores¶
A Fusion Core is a standardized container of ultracite (aka unobtainium) [a] for some kind of stimulated fusion reactor (aka cold fussion) that can power a reasonbly simple, oxygen-independant, and space flight capable device for an extended period of time [b].
Inital development driven by the very hight cost of supplying fossil fuels to remote locations under combat conditions [3][4].
Unlike in Fallout, these are not used for weapons or power armor.
Use Cases:
Ground vehicles
Electrical generators
Light aircraft
Large, long-duration drones [c]
Requirements:
Suitable for use in combat vehicles
Reliable source of supply
Lower TCO than fossil fuels [3][4][d]
Easy to use and support in the field (aka sailor proof)
A spent fusion core can’t be too dangerous
Assume:
Multiple cores can be combined in a single application for higher power [e][f]
Warships will use another kind of non-fossil fuel reactor [g]
Starts with military applications and expands into the civilian market from there
Open Questions:
What’s a reasonable standard power output per core
How hard are they to make
How much do they cost
What happens if/when the supply is cut off
How long do they last on the shelf
What are the known issues with them [h][i]
Notes¶
Some kind of crystal matrix created from Helium-3, ???, and has to be manufactured in zero-g to get the matrix to form correctly
2 years of continuious operation or so
Nuclear surface combatants weren’t cost effective
See that Australian tank that used 3 V-8 engines
The sentry bot uses 2 fusion cores
Or rely on a oiler that makes a reasonable requivalent of diesel fuel (see NRL)
See how we had to “bake in” those lithium batteries using CW mode before they would work right
Temp constraints