Reply To: EmDrive + Focus Fusion = Space Access for all?

[Tulse]

If you assume a conversion efficiency of 80% for both and no other losses inside the system the net gain on each shot is 25%. This is certainly better than unity but not very comfortably so.

I’m not clear on the economics of this — why would 25% over unity not be “comfortable”?

What are the hypothesized maximums for other fusion approaches? I have to believe that a process involving direct electrical generation from the fusion reaction will be much more efficient and economical than the MCF and ICF approaches of creating suns to boil water to drive a turbine to turn a generator.

Also, if you have low overall gain the waste heat that is generated is going to be very large compared to the net electrical output.

Of course, the “waste” heat itself can be used either to generate further electricity, or for heating and industrial applications, making the system more economical than figures for just direct electricity generation might suggest.