Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Hearthstone Generator

Hearthstone Generator
Image/credit: http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/hyperion-power-generation-080925.jpg
Intent: To create a portable nuclear reactor to power cities and towns through the galaxy.
Dev thread: NA
Manufacturers: Everclear Nuclear
Affiliation: Open Market 1,500,000 Cr
Modularity: Different units that have different power outputs.
Production: Minor
Materials: Lead, Water, Durasteel, plutonium, uranium, accelerate, primer, copper, permacrete.

Description: The Hearthstone Nuclear reactor is meant as a safe source of energy for disenfranchised people and cultures of this galaxy who can not afford the building of a nuclear power plant on their world. So that's where the hearthstone comes in, clean burning electricity for large towns and small cities.

Design

Lead lined Permacrete durasteel walls: The walls of this reactor are mixed with lead and other various chemicals to help absorb the flow of radiation that the plutonium inside emits, while the permacrete walls do increase the weight of the generator it is considered well worth the added weight to reduce the risk of cancer caused by radiation poisoning while the Durasteel covers the lead based permacrete to negate the chances of led poison

Coolant system: The coolant system is rather simple, a steady stream of water or coolant is needed to be hooked up and flowed through the machine at all times to keep the plutonium inside from overheating and causing a melt down. The coolant system operates very simply, In the first cylinder water or coolant flows through one end filling the third cylinder and out the other end. While water can be recycled after it is cooled it is not recommended for reuse.

Three Core System:

Cylinder 1: Cylinder one contains the outer later where the coolant flows through keeping the inner core cool and operating steady.

Cylinder 2: Cylinder two is a reinforced layer of Durasteel that covers main container of plutonium. This cylinder serves only as a reinforcing layer if any damage were to come to the reactor by keeping it safe from harm.

Main core: The core, the half oval that holds the Plutonium and produces the energy for the buyer. This cylinder is made of titanium and is laced with led to help the absorption of the radiation. While really doesn't help it mostly serves as a legal safety standards to pitch to customers. The core however is capable of withstanding the radiation and heat produced by the plutonium for up to two years.

Turbines: the small but powerful turbines spin and produce the electricity from the steam from the evaporated coolant causing the generation of energy. It is a simple concept but if the turbines ever jam it could cause a build up of excess heat which would lead to a meltdown

The plutonium: The plutonium used is only a good ten to fifteen KGs worth of plutonium making it light compared to bigger facility that use hundreds making this a perfect system to use. However if the buyer chooses to replace the plutonium it will need to be changed every 24 months.

Energy output: The Hearthstone can put out up to 30 Million Kilo Watts in a year at full capacity and can be set by a program to produce less, but being a smaller a portable model it will never come close to producing the 80 million that full size structures hold.

Operating system: The Hearthstone comes with a data pad for even the most unqualified technicians to use, all the operator needs to do is set it to its optimal energy output and let it go. However overloads and meltdowns can be triggered if the operator leaves it past the plutoniums expectation date.


Meltdown: if the horrible tragedy of a meltdown is to occur and the plutonium becomes unstable the generator will explode with the strength of a canon nuclear warhead or standard atomic bomb. The only things that could trigger a detonation however would be damage to the plutonium, overloading of the core, or a remote detonation that has been plugged into the system by the manufactures more secret agenda. However these machines are meant to be more of a kind act to the galaxy and prove that Everclear Nuclear has your back.

Secret compartment: At the bottom of the reactor lays a small amount of uranium and primer that gives it enough kick to explode when detonated causing the plutonium at the top to be used as additional accelerate in a blast. However the small secret bomb at the bottom can only be detonated by the proper security codes.

Classification: Generator
Height: 3.5 meters
Weight: 650 KG
 
I like the idea of this, and it's clearly thought out. However, there are some things that cause me hesitation.

1) In essence, this is a "portable" fission reactor, yes? So it produces unclean energy and generates radioactive waste. Are there provisions to dispose of the irradiated reactor core?

2) The weight needs to be increased significantly. Less than a metric ton for this is unreasonable. The construction materials alone would cause the weight to increase far past that. I'd say it'd have to be at least 10 tons to be reasonable. We aren't talking about a power-cell here, but a full blown nuclear reactor with turbines and cooling systems. It's going to weigh a lot. (Plus, you forgot to include the whole reactivity control mechanism, which would increase the weight significantly as well.)

3) Can you clarify the height please? Specifically, you need to include length and width.

4) The bomb-part doesn't sit well with me. It makes no sense that a company would include an explosive in an already very vulnerable portable reactor. The chance of accidental detonation is far too great. Additionally, the biggest worries of any company producing radioactive goods are the theft of radioactive materials for criminal use and the detonation of said device in a populated area. It would horrible PR and would kill the company.

However, if for RP reasons you want to include that (because the company isn't worried about the fallout, pun intended :) ),, then you can keep it. It just seems really odd.

5) The power output seems far too large for something of this size. 30 million kW is equal to 30 GW, if I did my math correctly. That's like 30 modern nuclear power plants. Yes, Star Wars is supposed to be high tech, but I can't imagine that something this small, with such little reaction material could produce so much energy. You have to remember that there are two limitations to the energy produced: The amount of nuclear mass that can produce heat, and the efficiency of transforming thermal energy to electrical energy. A steam turbine is incredibly inefficient, so I am skeptical that this reactor can produce so much energy. I'd cut the 30 GW down by half, or even less.

What are your thoughts on the above? Please tag me in your reply. Thanks! :)
 

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