Nuclear damper vs fission and fusion plants
- Thread starter Zparkz
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
In the Guilded Lilly adventure a nuclear damper is used to prevent a Far Trader from being able to power up its fusion power plant, and hence prevent it from taking off.
Could a nuclear damper have an affect on a fully operational power plant?
I'd compare the nuclear damper rating with the power output and fudge something
I'd probably explain it as "the nuclear damper is causing erratic power fluctuations. The safety features on your power plant want to kick in and shut it down. Do you want to override manually?"
Could a nuclear damper have an affect on a fully operational power plant?
I'd compare the nuclear damper rating with the power output and fudge something
I'd probably explain it as "the nuclear damper is causing erratic power fluctuations. The safety features on your power plant want to kick in and shut it down. Do you want to override manually?"
From memory, nuclear dampers work on focused areas (interference pattern from two projectors). This would be enoughtto snuff out a fusion reaction at the power plants ignitor (especially if they are using laser ignition). Not sure how it would work when the PP is fully operation. the flux levels may be too great / spreadout to stop the reaction. It may just reduce your power output or possible trip the protection interlocks.
It would permentantly convert fission fuel to lead but only in the affected area (missile warhead being the size of a football???) You would have to play it over the entire or at least a significant part of fission core to shut the fission reactor down
Cheers
Richard
It would permentantly convert fission fuel to lead but only in the affected area (missile warhead being the size of a football???) You would have to play it over the entire or at least a significant part of fission core to shut the fission reactor down
Cheers
Richard
Never really thought about it till now, but from what I recall of my readings of it, and fusion reactors in general, you'd see a destabilization and then a snuff-out in the space of a few seconds. Whether the destabilization will cause some kind of explosion, I'm not sure, but I think it's unlikely, since the reaction is contained with magnetic (and later, gravitic) constrictions.
I say it will go out quickly (well, it all depends on the power of the beam as compared to the power of the reactor) because you cannot build a real fusion rocket. You cannot build a real fusion rocket because the act of expelling your fusion product will cool the reaction below what is required to maitain fusion, and in quick order. You need very high temps and pressures, and having a hole in your reactor alleviates the pressure.
I suppose its PLAUSIBLE with future developments that these can be overcome, but I am not a fusion scientist and can't tell you the math behind these assertions.
ADDED: Crud, I just realized you also asked about fission plants. That's a lot easier to answer. The reactor would reduce its output until it stopped. Fission reactions are (put simply) just accruing enough material in one place to ALMOST make a bomb. If you reversed the polarity of the dampers, you'd PROBABLY get a runaway reaction and a fission bomb explosion. The fission reaction is controlled by a set of control rods, which act like a damper. I don't expect that a regular reactor would use enough material to create an explosion if the fuel rods were removed fully from their control assembly, but if you "undampered" them, that would reduce critical mass to the point where you get a big boom.
I say it will go out quickly (well, it all depends on the power of the beam as compared to the power of the reactor) because you cannot build a real fusion rocket. You cannot build a real fusion rocket because the act of expelling your fusion product will cool the reaction below what is required to maitain fusion, and in quick order. You need very high temps and pressures, and having a hole in your reactor alleviates the pressure.
I suppose its PLAUSIBLE with future developments that these can be overcome, but I am not a fusion scientist and can't tell you the math behind these assertions.
ADDED: Crud, I just realized you also asked about fission plants. That's a lot easier to answer. The reactor would reduce its output until it stopped. Fission reactions are (put simply) just accruing enough material in one place to ALMOST make a bomb. If you reversed the polarity of the dampers, you'd PROBABLY get a runaway reaction and a fission bomb explosion. The fission reaction is controlled by a set of control rods, which act like a damper. I don't expect that a regular reactor would use enough material to create an explosion if the fuel rods were removed fully from their control assembly, but if you "undampered" them, that would reduce critical mass to the point where you get a big boom.
Almost right. If you had the damper in damper box mode, it increases the depth of the potential well and prevents radioactive decay / nuclear fission and that area of the core would go dead, until you turned the damper off.
In full damper mode, it reduces the size of the potential well. Escaping particles from radioactive decay would leave rapdily at lower energies, The part of the core would rapidly decay to lead. The emitted particles would have the wrong energy to cause fission and would probably be capyured by nearby atoms. Converting high energy emitted neurons to the thermal neutrons needed to keep fission going without them being captured by U238 whilst you decrease the energy is actually quite tricky.
So you could turn the reactor off in damper box mode, but it could restart, or in damper mode you turn the fuel to lead.
Cheers
Richard
In full damper mode, it reduces the size of the potential well. Escaping particles from radioactive decay would leave rapdily at lower energies, The part of the core would rapidly decay to lead. The emitted particles would have the wrong energy to cause fission and would probably be capyured by nearby atoms. Converting high energy emitted neurons to the thermal neutrons needed to keep fission going without them being captured by U238 whilst you decrease the energy is actually quite tricky.
So you could turn the reactor off in damper box mode, but it could restart, or in damper mode you turn the fuel to lead.
Cheers
Richard
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
Hey Richard! That means those TL-8/9 fission power plant Hard times, TNE era vessels would be vulnerable, am I seeing this right?
evil diabolical smile Poor TED...bought a fission PP! Hehehehehehehe! FIRE!" -LTCDR Maeve Marstens, RCES..
evil diabolical smile Poor TED...bought a fission PP! Hehehehehehehe! FIRE!" -LTCDR Maeve Marstens, RCES..
Liam,
Technically yes. you could either kill the power plant dead or put it to sleep. But you have to keep the damper on it to suspend the power plant.To kill the plant would only take a second or two depending upon the size of the power plant.
According to Striker I rules, the range is a function of the distance between the damper projectors. At TL13, max range is 100 times the seperation. At TL14/15 range is 1000 times the seperation.
Given that the average ship is 20-40 metres long, this gives a planetary range of about 40km (TL14/15). Thats not much range for ship to ship combat.
Cheers
Richard
Technically yes. you could either kill the power plant dead or put it to sleep. But you have to keep the damper on it to suspend the power plant.To kill the plant would only take a second or two depending upon the size of the power plant.
According to Striker I rules, the range is a function of the distance between the damper projectors. At TL13, max range is 100 times the seperation. At TL14/15 range is 1000 times the seperation.
Given that the average ship is 20-40 metres long, this gives a planetary range of about 40km (TL14/15). Thats not much range for ship to ship combat.
Cheers
Richard
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
DARN!
Oh well...perhaps as a sneaky way to disable them as they come "alongside"?
Oh well...perhaps as a sneaky way to disable them as they come "alongside"?
Guys, your forget that the damper can reduce the NBF (Nuclear Binding Force) or enhance it.
Against fusion, if you enhance it, you get more fusion... can we say runaway? Reduce the NBF, and you get less, a power drain.
Fission has the opposite effect, in that enhancing the NBF will keep the atoms from fissioning, as well as upping the critical mass. Lowering the NBF allows them to fission more, faster, and lowers critical mass. Get a good hit on a fission plant, and you melt down or even detonate the core!
Against fusion, if you enhance it, you get more fusion... can we say runaway? Reduce the NBF, and you get less, a power drain.
Fission has the opposite effect, in that enhancing the NBF will keep the atoms from fissioning, as well as upping the critical mass. Lowering the NBF allows them to fission more, faster, and lowers critical mass. Get a good hit on a fission plant, and you melt down or even detonate the core!
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
So, just as a basic question, how does a starship mount and operate a Nuclear Damper, and not have it's own fusion power plant knocked out? Is this answered somewhere, or is it assumed that an ND can created a "hole in the middle"?
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
I think it is an aimed effect rather than a field effect. In CT Book 4 Mercenary you needed two vehicles each mounting a nuclear damper and where they intersected their aim was where you got the effect, iirc, and I'm not too sure. I'm sure I'll be corrected if that's wrong
Meantime I'll see if I can find my old B4 and look it up
Well that was easy, hide in plain sight on me will ya FOUND IT
The above is about right, more or less. There's a little more detail and stuff is all.
Well that was easy, hide in plain sight on me will ya
FOUND IT
The above is about right, more or less. There's a little more detail and stuff is all.
RainOfSteel
SOC-14 1K
far-trader,
Oh, hmmm. I'd quite forgotten that. It makes as many nodes and anti-nodes as it needs. So it really does create a "hole in the middle".
Oh, hmmm. I'd quite forgotten that. It makes as many nodes and anti-nodes as it needs. So it really does create a "hole in the middle".
