Fusion Drill

[Berizdrav]

Documentary of Jupiter's moon Europa inspired me how humankind could construct Fusion Drill to penetrate Europa's ice.

Experimenting with magnetic field recently in fusion reactor as a wall for controlling hot plasma from breakthrough could be a way where focused heat can be used as a drill head.

[sghill]

Why does it have to be fusion? It's just ice there.

Using nuclear heat sources to melt tunnels is a decades old concept, the very concept of "China Syndrome" refers to an uncontrolled event where this happens.

See also: Vitrification: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrification and Nuclear Subterrene: https://www.google.com/patents/US3693731

[Berizdrav]

Ok I am glad idea is already there probably like most of the ideas, but why do you call it "China Syndrome" concept?

In documentary was sad how Europa's moon ice is firmer than a stone. So idea just pop up in my head like: "Shouldn't humans build something that will go trough ice like trough butter." Idea has nothing to do with China.

It is not new how conventional drills could easily break and fusion drill could easily penetrate any material with ease without polluting environment with radiation.

It looks to me how this method would be worth enough to explore when we talking about deep unreachable, irreplaceable outer space.

[meberbs]

Ok I am glad idea is already there probably like most of the ideas, but why do you call it "China Syndrome" concept?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Syndrome

It's from a movie.

[ppnl]

It would be really cool if they were attached to sharks. But realistically we will probably have to be satisfied with sea bass.

[KelvinZero]

This is a clip from a larger documentary I think. Probably National Geographic.

[Elmar Moelzer]

It is a from a James Cameron IMax documentary.

[stefan r]

Ok I am glad idea is already there probably like most of the ideas, but why do you call it "China Syndrome" concept?...

Some Americans have the idea that China is on the opposite side of the globe because it is around 12 hours difference in time zone.  They think that a molten pile of enriched uranium could sink through the earth. 

[Berizdrav]

Yes, that would be case if we are speaking about Fission Drill, but topic is about Fusion Drill.

Since, Jupiter's moon Europa has much lower gravity which means pressure of gravity won't help you much penetrating hard ice with conventional drills. So melting method like Fusion Drill could be reasonable possibility.

Idea of the topic was to debate about solutions how Fusion Drill should be constructed? Please make your suggestions on real facts, make scheme drawings of how Drill head and body will look like. Also consider would it be lowered by cable or it would be constructed like automated or even crew module. What material would you use for construction? See also into economical sustainability plan of the project.

Drills will be one of the main tools for the future successful colonization of extraterrestrial worlds.

Bottom line... What you people manage to prove as a usable fact today, it can help NASA to seriously review project and use it for any future undergoing.

[meberbs]

Idea of the topic was to debate about solutions how Fusion Drill should be constructed? Please make your suggestions on real facts,

The real facts are that we know how to make fission reactors, and that we can make small ones today. We know how to directly transfer heat out of fission reactors. And we also have powered space probes with nuclear decay based thermal generators (RTGs)

The facts for the fusion that you are asking about are that we have not yet built a sustainable energy generating fusion reaction on Earth. There is another thread on here for advanced fusion concepts, but currently the ones most likely to eventually work (ITER) are huge plants. Unsolved problems include what kind of materials need to be used for long term shielding with the high energy neutrons output. There simply isn't enough information available to speculate on a realistic "fusion drill" concept.

[morganism]

There is a plasma fusion thermoelectric company working on small scale systems. Helion Energy.
Using magnetically driven plasma fronts to collide in a pipe, and reaching serious energies. They have funding.

Where you want to research is Wakefield plasmas. These can be laser driven, magnetically guided, and aimed pretty well. Can get GeV beams, which might be enough to bore thru rock, and ice absorbs eV even better. Most research now at Stanford? SLAC?

http://www.helionenergy.com/

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/?s=helion

http://www.talk-polywell.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1669&start=135

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_deep_drilling_technology

[gillead]

Interesting, thanks for the links!