Molten Core Fission Systems
Molten Core Fission Systems — Terra Invicta technology. Molten core fission systems generate energy by harnessing fission reactions of molten salts throug…
About Molten Core Fission Systems
Molten Core Fission Systems is a Terra Invicta technology in Energy with a research cost of 10,000.
Molten core fission systems generate energy by harnessing fission reactions of molten salts through liquid metal coolant.
Our current solid core fission reactors are reliant upon water and steam to generate electricity, which has proven to be an inherently inefficient design. To address this shortcoming, the next generation of fission systems instead use both liquid fuels and molten metal as the coolant and heat absorber. These reactors are designed to generate - or breed - a portion of their fuel from a variety of sources, such as natural uranium and thorium, or even recycled radioactive waste and plutonium. The liquid fuel is a solution of these sources and molten salts, which slows the released neutrons of the fission reaction so that they can breed more fuel or sustain the chain reaction. The released energy is captured as heat through a second loop of molten lead as coolant. These reactors have two major benefits. First, they can generate more energy due to the high thermal conductivity of the metal coolant. Second, the lower operating pressures of both the fuel and the coolant make the design far safer than high-pressure water-cooled reactors. These two advantages allow our spaceships and habitats to be safer. Together with their ability to breed portions of their fuel, these reactors can run longer on less fuel, opening a new pathway into the distant regions of the Solar System. It is also the stepping stone to using gases as nuclear fuels, and developing even more advanced fission systems.