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More Research Thoughts
Oct. 27th, 2008 02:27 pmLast Monday, I talked a bit about my science fiction writing research. To recap, that post was about how Mars offered a lot of the basics needed to set up colonies. One of the things Mars doesn't offer is power.
Although solar power will work on Mars, sunlight at the Martian surface is half as intense as Earth's surface, and one still has the day-night problems as on Earth. It's not as bad as our Moon, with a two-week-long night, but still, solar has problems. There are solutions, namely small-scale nuclear power plants. Google tells me that there are really two choices here.
Pebble-bed reactors.
this article in Wired is a good layman's overview of the topic. Basically, in a pebble-bed reactor, one encases nuclear fuel in graphite "pebbles" the size of pool balls. These pebbles can withstand high heat, and are cooled by blowing inert gas (helium or nitrogen works, the later is free on Mars) and the heated gas drives a turbine.
There are a couple of big advantages to this technology for space settlements. First, thanks to the rules of nuclear fission, if the reactor overheats, the fission reaction stops, and at a temperature lower then the melting point of your fuel. Second, one can refuel while running - just swap out a pebble. More advantageous from my view, the smallest reactor of this type running produces 10 megawatts - enough power for a very small settlement. Even the big 200 MW units are modular enough to ship via standard containers.
Nuclear Batteries
The technology I am most familiar with is Hyperion's. This unit generates 25 megawatts of power via steam. The actual reactor core is sealed, and refueling is accomplished by swapping out cores. Since the core is "the size of a hot tub" transportation is easy. Two problems arise. First, the core coolant is an exotic material - in Hyperion's case, uranium hydride. Second is the obvious need to shut down for refueling, although one could gang two reactor vessels together.
At any rate, both these technologies offer solutions to the Martian power problem. They also offer a solution to carbon emissions for global warming, but that's another post.
Although solar power will work on Mars, sunlight at the Martian surface is half as intense as Earth's surface, and one still has the day-night problems as on Earth. It's not as bad as our Moon, with a two-week-long night, but still, solar has problems. There are solutions, namely small-scale nuclear power plants. Google tells me that there are really two choices here.
Pebble-bed reactors.
this article in Wired is a good layman's overview of the topic. Basically, in a pebble-bed reactor, one encases nuclear fuel in graphite "pebbles" the size of pool balls. These pebbles can withstand high heat, and are cooled by blowing inert gas (helium or nitrogen works, the later is free on Mars) and the heated gas drives a turbine.
There are a couple of big advantages to this technology for space settlements. First, thanks to the rules of nuclear fission, if the reactor overheats, the fission reaction stops, and at a temperature lower then the melting point of your fuel. Second, one can refuel while running - just swap out a pebble. More advantageous from my view, the smallest reactor of this type running produces 10 megawatts - enough power for a very small settlement. Even the big 200 MW units are modular enough to ship via standard containers.
Nuclear Batteries
The technology I am most familiar with is Hyperion's. This unit generates 25 megawatts of power via steam. The actual reactor core is sealed, and refueling is accomplished by swapping out cores. Since the core is "the size of a hot tub" transportation is easy. Two problems arise. First, the core coolant is an exotic material - in Hyperion's case, uranium hydride. Second is the obvious need to shut down for refueling, although one could gang two reactor vessels together.
At any rate, both these technologies offer solutions to the Martian power problem. They also offer a solution to carbon emissions for global warming, but that's another post.
