Tonautok - Thorium / Gravity Reactor

[Xitli Sacul]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Design a power solution for civilian and military applications.
• Image Source: Artstation Leon Tukker
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: Fusion Generator

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Excan Tlahtoloyan, Citalee Spacers Guild
• Affiliation: Avali, Satorian
• Market Status: Open-Market
• Model: Tonautok Hybrid Reactor
• Modularity: Yes (Energy Storage, Fuel)
• Production: Minor
• Material:
  • Silicon Carbide
  • Carbon Enhanced Durasteel
  • Antimatter
  • Light Elements (Hydrogen, Helium etc.)
  • Thorium

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Kinetic Energy Storage
• Hybrid Reactor [Fusion / Fission]

STRENGTHS

• Efficiency - Thorium reactions are 98% efficient, meaning very little potential power is lost. Furthermore, Kinetic Batteries do not suffer from the degradation of other common battery types.
• Hybrid System - The reactor is cheaper to produce than dedicated Fusion Reactors.
• Byproduct Toxicity - Byproducts are far less toxic and have a much shorter half-life than fission reactors.
• Controlled Shutdown - Thorium reactors are easier to shut down in case of an emergency.
• Multiplicative - Energy production exceeds fission reactors and most weak fusion powerplants.
• Self-Sufficient - Fusion provides much of the power needed to keep the reactors operating, meaning it is unlikely to fail from outside influences.

WEAKNESSES

• Meltdown - Potential for a Nuclear Meltdown, in such an event the fallout will be far greater than fission or fusion reactors.
• Size - Reactors are large and complex meaning the options for downsizing are limited. Meaning it cannot be used to directly power droids or small machinery. Equally, it cannot be weaponized into bombs or missiles.
• Toxic Byproduct - The reactor breeds small quantities of Uranium. Its half-life is significantly reduced, but in the context of most species, the timeframe remains huge.
• Start-Up Costs - Restarting the reactor is costly due to using antimatter to initiate the reaction.
• Not Infinite - Fuel is used to keep the reaction going, meaning its longevity isn't comparable to self-sustaining fusion reactors.

DESCRIPTION
Tonautok is an example of Satorian Engineering, while Avali may claim to have funded the project it was Satorian Engineers that made it a reality.

The Thorium Reactor was made to solve Avali energy requirements, without dealing with vast quantities of radioactive materials produced by traditional fusion and fission reactions.

Prior to the innovation many of these toxic materials were stored in high orbit, posing a significant risk to the Migrant Fleets, and serious ecological threats should their orbit deteriorate, or point Defence systems fail to result in a collision.

A hybrid Fusion-Fission reactor produces extreme quantities of energy at high efficiency (98<%) with much reduced toxic byproducts. Fusion is achieved by utilising small quantities of Antimatter and light elements, such as Deuterium and Tritium which in turn are used to trigger a Thorium fission reaction.

While this process doesn't produce infinite energy, the event generates several reactions having a multiplicative effect. An added benefit is that byproducts from Fission reactors can be utilised as fuel providing a means for the cleanup of radioactive materials.

A secondary function of the reactor's design is to store any excess energy, it achieves this by utilising Kinetic Batteries. These batteries are raised along a rail by stored energy and dropped when demand increases utilising the Kinetic energy to produce electricity.