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by kwhitefoot
982 days ago
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Are you implying that they do not produce more energy than they consume? Conventional commercial reactors release only a tiny fraction of the energy available in the fuel. Accelerator driven reactors make it possible to release more of it. They can also make effective use of thorium. |
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You need to have a system with cryogenic superconducting magnets and high vacuum within centimeters from a reactor producing at least hundreds of megawatts of power (if not gigawatts) within a volume of several cubic meters. You're basically constructing a fusion reactor at this point.
Oh, and parts of your accelerator close to the reactor will become activated, so you won't be able to do maintenance. ITER (the fusion reactor project) is planning to solve this problem using robots.
Fission reactors solve this by using VERY THICK pipes made of special steel, with careful inspection of every single weld. So once the vessel and its connections are placed, they stay inside the shielded area until it's time to decommission the reactor.