[HN Gopher] Helion fusion to talk at Plasma Physics APS conference
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       Helion fusion to talk at Plasma Physics APS conference
        
       Author : joak
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2022-09-01 20:07 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (meetings.aps.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (meetings.aps.org)
        
       | joak wrote:
       | They seem to be willing to lift the veil a bit...
       | 
       | The abstract is a bit of a spoiler..
       | 
       | Author: David Kirtley Helion's Trenta prototype compressed Field
       | Reversed Configuration (FRC) plasmas to thermonuclear fusion
       | conditions, reaching 9 keV plasma temperatures [1]. FRC plasmas
       | are fundamentally high-beta and if heated through pulsed,
       | adiabatic compression, they operate in a unique collisionality
       | regime that supports both thermonuclear fusion conditions as well
       | as maintains an ion to electron temperature ratio. In the
       | presented work, a theoretical analysis of FRC compression to
       | generator-relevant fusion conditions is derived from fundamental
       | scaling laws. This work includes independent ion and electron
       | heating [2], radiation losses [3], empirical particle transport
       | scaling [4], fusion reaction rates, ion temperature distribution
       | evolution, and D, T, and He-3 fuels. As will be shown, for all
       | operating conditions above 20 keV, a high-beta D-He-3 FRC
       | outperforms a low-Beta D-T plasma in terms of electrical and
       | fusion power output.
        
         | B1FF_PSUVM wrote:
         | Not to be too crude, but somewhere in the business plan there
         | must be a USD$/W figure for a power plant ...
         | 
         | (e.g. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-cost-of-a-100-megawatt-
         | sol... )
        
         | twarge wrote:
         | This is a scaling claim, and I don't know, but it feels super
         | weak.
         | 
         | Of course a high beta plasma beats a low beta plasma. The
         | problem with high beta is is instabilities, and you know,
         | actually getting high beta.
        
           | joak wrote:
           | Since it's pulsed the instabilities do not have time to arise
           | and matter.
           | 
           | As I understand they are going to explain how they get to
           | high beta.
        
       | bmitc wrote:
       | Why is it "Sam Altman's" Helion Energy? He has nothing to do with
       | it other than later stage funding. And the company name is Helion
       | Energy and not "Helion fusion".
       | 
       | Edit: Title has been partially edited after, not necessarily
       | because of, my comment.
        
         | joak wrote:
         | Later stage, early stage, a good of chunk all his wealth
         | invested in it and posts in hn to advertize it.
        
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