Ion engines and He3

I was reading in Popular Mechanics about a harebrained scheme to mine
the He3 from the moon to provide nuclear electricity for the earth. The
rough guesses were that mining 1 sq mile of the moon might yield 200# of
He3 which should provide electricity for Detroit for a year.

Thinking back on the idea, it might be too expensive for earth power but
might be ideal for a spaceship, especially a large manned spaceship.
Unlimited electrical power would make ion drive practical and the lack
of a rrequirement for a heavy radiation shield would be a huge bonus.

How well researched is the He3 reactor idea? Is there enough He3 on
earth to build a working He3 reactor? Is the reactor laser activated?

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
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On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 04:51:53 -0500, Nick Hull wrote:

I was reading in Popular Mechanics about a harebrained scheme to mine
the He3 from the moon to provide nuclear electricity for the earth. The
rough guesses were that mining 1 sq mile of the moon might yield 200# of
He3 which should provide electricity for Detroit for a year.

Why not just build the power plant on the moon & feed the energy to Detroit with
long wires? The wires could also help control the moon's orbit becuase I here
it's drifting away from us?

Sometimes the simpleest ideas are the best.

Burnham Treezdown wrote in
:

On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 04:51:53 -0500, Nick Hull
wrote:

I was reading in Popular Mechanics about a harebrained scheme to mine
the He3 from the moon to provide nuclear electricity for the earth.
The rough guesses were that mining 1 sq mile of the moon might yield
200# of He3 which should provide electricity for Detroit for a year.

Why not just build the power plant on the moon & feed the energy to
Detroit with long wires? The wires could also help control the moon's
orbit becuase I here it's drifting away from us?

The power losses would be excessive, among other things. Ahem.

Sometimes the simpleest ideas are the best.


That's certainly simple-minded.

--Damon

Nick Hull wrote:
How well researched is the He3 reactor idea?

After 50 years, you can say it's *well* researched :-)

Is there enough He3 on
earth to build a working He3 reactor?

Yes. To build 'a' reactor. And if it doesn't work you're in trouble :-)

Is the reactor laser activated?

No. Normal tokomak style reactor- you know, the one nobody can get to
work after 50 years of research- only He3 needs it hotter, which makes
it even more difficult...