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this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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Fusion uses hydrogen and produces helium
They use liquid helium to cool the super magnets...
Sure, but they don't consume it, and let it just boil off. They have massive refrigerant setups to bring it down to temp and keep it there.
Sure, but why does that mean they must be losing the helium each time? I don't know anything about liquid helium and super conductors, but I know I don't need to replace my radiator fluid just because it cooled my engine.
Once used, it need to be cooled down to -252c to be reused. Not like a closed loop of oil
Alright, did some research, first off you're wrong about this being the reason even if this was a plausible reason. The real reason is the ash and heat divertors failed.
Second, you don't even need liquid helium for super conduction. Here's a few closed loop helium gas coolers that get to 10 kelvin. They need to be refilled on the scale of years, not from a single test.
https://www.arscryo.com/closed-cycle-cryocoolers https://stirlingcryogenics.com/products/closed-loop-helium-gas-cooling-system/
I get you care deeply about helium loss but this is the last thing you should be accidentally spreading misinformation about. This process literally creates more helium then it uses.
I didn't say they did, just said probably, I'm just a stupid redneck.
Oh and how do we capture said multi thousand deg helium?
By cooling down the air that contains it until it's liquid, then distilling that. Actually a standard process though usually you freeze down natural gas not just random air, it's quite helium-rich.
You got that right, at least