Greyslayer
08/12/02 06:53 PM
63.12.147.51
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Maybe they use the materials in the 'bottle' rather than the process?
This would explain why people can die of radiation in a mech's cockpit (such as Aidan Pryde).
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Cray
08/12/02 07:07 PM
12.78.119.27
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Fusion produces a lot of radiation that can be a danger, though it doesn't necessarily use radioactive fuels.
For example, the sheer high temperatures means the plasma will be glowing x-ray hot (as opposed to white hot, or UV hot).
Keep the plasma constrained by a magnetic field is another way of generating a lot of x-rays...bremstralung (I know I misspelled that) radiation. In layman's terms...electrons scream at being forced to turn in tight circles at high speeds. "Free electron lasers" use this principle to generate light. Fusion reactors put up with it as brehmstralung radiation, electrons screaming out x-rays.
But x-rays are easily stopped by a bit of metal.
There's also simple charged particle radiation: beta particles (electrons) and alpha particles (helium ions). A plasma will, by definition, consist of free-flying electrons and ions. Fusion plasmas will probably involve helium ions in some way. Alpha and beta particles are easier to stop than x-rays. A sheet of paper or a few feet of air will stop them (they are, however, quite nasty when their emitters are in contact with your flesh - inhaled radioactive materials that emit alpha and beta particles are what make fallout from nuclear bombs nasty to the lungs and skin).
That leaves neutron radiation, a primary boogie man of deuterium-tritium fusion (which releases 80% of its energy as free-flying neutrons). Neutrons can slam into other atoms and turn them into radioactive isotopes (a major problem in fission reactors - the walls that contain the fuel turn radioactive), and is seriously penetrating radiation unto itself.
A deuterium-tritium fusion reactor with damaged shielding will be spewing neutron radiation as badly as comparably-rated fission reactors, and deuterium-deuterium reactors will have their neutron spewing side reactions. Someone sitting near one of those that gets mucked up shielding better hope they donated to a sperm/egg bank before going into battle, and may be looking forward to a nasty death by radiation poisoning.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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