Dr. Charles Forsberg observes technological overlap between Molten-Salt Reactor (fission) development and Fusion Reactors due to manufacturing breakthrough of Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) Superconducting Magnets onto steel tape.
REBCO superconducting tape enables doubling magnetic fields.
Size of magnetic fusion system for any given power output varies as one over the fourth power of the magnetic field. Higher magnetic fields can shrink fusion system size by an order of magnitude, power density in the fusion blanket increases by an order of magnitude.
Higher power densities in the blanket make it difficult to cool solid blankets. High magnetic fields create large incentives to have a coolant with low electrical conductivity to avoid coolant/magnetic field interactions.
REBCO Fusion Favors a Molten-Salt (particularly FLiBe Salt) Blanket.
Why Flibe (Li2BeF4) Salt?
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