Reply To: would nuclear energy really be accessible to all?

[jamesr]

For the plasmoid at high temperature the dominant radiative cooling mechanism is via bremsstrahlung. The formula for which is approximated as:

P(br) = 1.7E-38*Z^2 *n_e * n_i *sqrt(Te) in W/m^3

where n_i, n_e are the ion & electron number densities in per m^3, and Te is the electron temperature in eV.

Taking the effective Z as 2 (combination of hydrogen & boron but with higher concentration of hydrogen) and ne =Z*n_i = 1e26/m^3 and Te= 1e9K = 80keV

Then I make P(br) ~ 4e17 W/m^3 for the plasmoid.

Multiplying this by the volume of the plasmoid (~10um diameter) an saying it lasts for 100ns gives only 4e-5J which seems way too small???

For the bulk plasma at a few thousand degrees the radiation comes from recombination and line radiation which is much harder to work out… I’ll try and find an estimate.

You also obviously have this hot, few thousand degree plasma in direct contact with the electrode surfaces – this I would expect to dominate everything.