I have seen a reference or two to the conjectured “typical” size of a powerplant Focus Fusion element as being on the order of 5 MWe. I believe that amount of power is comparable to the power of a railroad locomotive. The mechanical forces a locomotive applies to its train naturally are very high. Won’t the great majority of the energy captured be in the form of particle momentum representing comparable forces? Would the particle deceleration mechanisms – including coils and other electrical components – not need to be sturdy enough to tolerate the very high forces involved? They would have to be pretty massive relative to the volume of the reaction area, no?
Also, it appears the system will be pulsed many times per second. Doesn’t that result in very heavy vibration forces?
Moreover, assume the alpha particles are in a beam, and that they are so because they have been deflected by electromagnetic fields in the reaction area. Won’t the mechanical forces borne by those fields (torque, compression) for the deflection similarly be comparable to the forces of a locomotive? What mechanical components in the reaction area will, or can, bear those mechanical forces?
I’m not a physicist, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not understanding the theory of the device. Please let me know what I’m missing.
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