# Ground-based Fusion reaction...what happens with the Plasma?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 19, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870 "2003-06-19T06:10:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870/1 "2003-06-19T06:10:38Z")

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Just a quick technology question…in conceptual designs for ground based nuclear Fusion reactors, what is supposed to be done with the high temperature plasma that would be produced by such a reaction?

I’d guess that the plasma would be passed through a heat exchanger to extract the thermal energy, until it was cool enough to be handled like ordinary Helium. But I’d like to find out for sure what the actual experts’ “plan” would be.

Ranchoth

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870/2 "2003-06-19T06:33:42Z")

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By definition, plasma has to always be contained with some kind of magnetic (or energy) field because its temperature is beyond the limits of **any** type of matter’s molecular bond (which is a fancy way of saying it will melt **anything** ).

So any theoretical plasma heat exchanger would have to contain it physically but still allow its thermal energy to be extracted somehow…

_ **"Me delithium crystals Captain!!!"** _

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**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870/3 "2003-06-20T14:38:05Z")

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I encountered this problem when designing a fusion reactor of my own in the third grade. My solution was to build an extremely long underground corridor of heat exchangers that led to a large hole where the waste plasma would be ejected into the atmosphere, much like a helium-3 volcano. The heat exchangers were made of diamond-coated titanium, and the reactor was to be built in Antarctica. All of this was meant to stop the reactor from melting itself.

I also designed a tank-battleship-carrier with extra-wide treads, so as not to sink into the ground. It was all part of my big plan to take over the world.

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ground-based-fusion-reaction-what-happens-with-the-plasma/182870/4 "2003-06-21T02:06:58Z")

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I was under the impression that since fusion would mean a magnetically confined plasma, that they would use magnetohydrodymanic, or MHD power generation. That is, the flow of electrically conductive plasma past magnetic coils generates an electric current.