Reply To: A Big Prick in the Balloon of the Big Bang

[Brian H]

Timo wrote:

For trucks, consider that the total weight of the FF generator, including shielding, is expected to be about 2 tons. I don’t think you get it under the hood; it would have to be a special configuration.

What I actually did mean is there a physical limitation to how small we can get. This first generator FF generator is probably quite a lot too big for for example cars, but can it get that small even in purely theoretical level? Lets say 250kW FF reactor?

Brian H wrote:
As to going orbital, there are some old Air Force studies of DPF as an SSTO power source, using MHD drive. I believe the conclusion was that there was power to spare. If so, theoretically FF is the basis of a sci-fi one-ship-does-all vehicle! If I can find the links, I’ll post them.

Multi-hued Dragon drive? 🙂 Seriously MHD usually means magneto hydrodynamic drive IE. boat motor, I think you mean MPD = Magnetoplasmadynamic drive.
Size: AFAIK, the sizes of DPF devices are constrained by the minimum physics requirements of generating a plasmoid. I’m not sure if it can be made that low-powered.

MHD — well, you’d better let the USAF know it’s misusing the term! :cheese: I found the paper:
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA446973
and it says, in part:

The objective of this study was to perform a parametric evaluation of the performance and interface characteristics of a dense plasma focus (DPF) fusion system in support of a USAF advanced military aerospace vehicle concept study (Froning, Czysz, 2006). This vehicle is an aerospace plane that combines clean “aneutronic” dense plasma
focus (DPF) fusion power and propulsion technology, with advanced “waverider”-like airframe configurations
utilizing MHD airbreathing propulsion and power technology within a reusable single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. Early
versions of such an aerospace vehicle, available by 2025, would rapidly reach Earth orbit to deploy, sustain, and
reconstitute space forces with flight operations and take-off weights that are comparable to those of current heavy
Air Force jets. It would rapidly accomplish global reconnaissance or weapon delivery to ground, air, or space threats
by sub-orbital flight around the Earth; and, there would be no requirements for jet tanker fleet logistics support.
Such an aerospace vehicle would have: advanced sensors; communications; and structures; beam weapons; stealth
features; and other unique features, characteristics, and capabilities that might be available by the 2025 time period
to revolutionize propulsion and power capabilities in the more near-term.

Such a high thrust/high Isp system with a high power generation capability would allow military versatility in sub-
orbital space, as early as 2025, and beyond as early as 2050, with a vehicle that embodies advanced
communications-guidance-navigation-control and airframe materials, and augments aerospace vehicle propulsion
and power with field propulsion and power for flight acceleration and ΔV increases of as much as 400 percent for
enhanced capabilities within near-earth and cis-lunar space (Froning, Czysz, 2006). This would be in addition to
enabling even more advanced forms of weapons and defensive capabilities, such as pulsed-train plasmoid weapons,
ultrahigh-power lasers, and gravity devices (Davis, 2004).

The page link above is to the abstract, and it contains a link to the original full report: http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA446973

Be warned: this downloads a small PDF file without an extension. You’ll have to edit the filename to add “.pdf” to get your software to read it.