UEO Atlantis DSV-8100; Internal Buildup

[Robert Harrison]

Oh i feel it is important to point out that there is a vital diff between Fusion and Fission power, Fusion is in the Theory and experiments where as Fission is what is being used... This like this, Fusion is what teh sun does, Fission is use smashing Atoms together (right J.Wilde)

When a relatively large fissile atomic nucleus is struck by a neutron it forms two or more smaller nuclei as fission products, releasing energy and neutrons in a process called nuclear fission

In this kind of reaction, two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus and in doing so, release energy.

Not much of a diff and they both get the same result, only the Fusion needs very high temp and pressure... you know like a Star!

Think Spidy 2 (but more practical then a tiny Star in your living room!

[Meph]

Well, talking about fusion reactors... They're actually building one in France
ITER - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[DGWilliams]

Originally Posted by Robert Harrison

Hey is this from Sea quest?

Derived from. Atlantis is a fan-made spin-off.

If so did they use a Fusion Reactor?

Yes. The only other thing we know is that it used tritium extracted from sea water.

[J.Wilde]

Tritium from seawater, or Deuterium? Tritium's half life is too short for it to be naturally occurring in any useful abundance.

[Robert Harrison]

Originally Posted by J.Wilde

Tritium from seawater, or Deuterium? Tritium's half life is too short for it to be naturally occurring in any useful abundance.

I think H3 (Hydrogen 3) although it is not found on Earth (so we think) but deep oceans might be the place to find it. It is either found in high pressure or somewhere where the sun is strongest, say the moon. H3 is also what they think is the best fuel for a fusion reactor.

[DGWilliams]

It was tritium. Those specs are from the season two series bible. Also, some piping seen on screen was labeled for tritium (I want to say the pipe ran over Lucas's bunk, but I'm not certain).

[Havocwreaker]

I'd just like to point out that H3 is tritium.
Also, deuterium is required to fuse with tritium for a fusion reaction, so it'd be a deuterium / tritium fusion reaction.
And for abundance of fuel? About 1 part in 5000 of the hydrogen in seawater is deuterium. It's the tritium, as stated above which is the hard bit to get. It can be obtained through the deuterium fusion cycle, however. So, with so much deuterium floating about, this thing probably has the biggest fuel tank on the planet. Wait...it's fuel tank is the planet.

[J.Wilde]

D-T fusion makes sense, since it is (at the moment) the most feasible of the fusion reactions at our current understanding and technological sophistication. My biggest problem with it as a power source is that your useful energy comes from fast neutrons, which are used to heat metal which in turn heats water and (wait for it) makes steam. So we are going to a tremendous amount of effort and producing plenty of radioactive material from the neutron activation of the reactor and its heat exchangers to do the same thing fission reactors already do - boil water... The only difference comes from the relative abundance of the fuel. On the other hand, that simple need for a thermodynamic phase transformation of your working fluid kills your efficiency.

Seaquest would probably have been better off with a gas-cooled fission reactor, but that wouldn't be as exotic as fusion.

[DGWilliams]

Well, I have a strong suspicion that there is no steam turbine involved in seaQuest's reactor...at least, not for any primary power generation.

First, in the episode "Second Chance" we do get a few scenes inside the reactor compartment, wherein the reactor chamber itself looked nothing like any currently proposed designs.

Additionally, it is said in the series bible that the seaLaunch vehicles are nuclear powered. However, in a season one episode, the primary power source was referred to as batteries and were ejected in an effects sequence. Given that the operational capabilities of a seaLaunch greatly exceed those provided by any existing radioisotope battery, the existence of a more exotic nuclear device seems like a fair supposition. The existence of such technology would also lend credence to the explosion in underwater colonization within a relatively short period of time (~20yrs).

[Havocwreaker]

It was brought up in a discussion that using conventional technology, all the majesty of a fusion reactor would, in the end, simply be used to boil water, as you so eloquently put it. At this stage, it is attributed to FM as to how the thermal energy is converted into mechanical/electrical or whatever energy.