Deuterium / Helium-3 Standard Fuel Mix
The standard mix of deuterium and helium-3 is the most common fusion fuel mix in Starweb space today, favored for its desirable reaction qualities. It is most commonly used in torchship drives and stationary power plants.
This fuel, as expected, utilizes the deuterium / helium-3 fusion reaction cycle, where one atom of each fuse to form ordinary helium and a proton. This reaction has the important advantage of being aneutronic, meaning it does not produce any neutron radiation. Neutron radiation, being highly penetrating, is undesirable especially for a spaceship drive as it requires heavy shielding to stop. While some fixed power plants use neutronic reactions such as deuterium-tritium or deuterium-deuterium, and these were also used in early torch drives since they are easier to ignite, in the modern day D-He3 fusion enjoys a distinct advantage for space propulsion. There is a wrinkle to this, however—without a way to guarantee the deuterium only fuses with the helium-3, it can fuse with itself in neutronic side reactions.
This fuel mix commonly comes in pellets of various sizes, suitable for engine and power plant use, and are confined by magnetic fields and compressed to fusion by ignition beams. The reaction products can then be confined to create heat and energy (in a stationary reactor) or directed out into a rocket exhaust plume (for a spaceship drive). While not as much shielding is needed versus fully-neutronic fusion reactions, some is still required on account of the deuterium-deuterium side reactions. To produce it, both isotopes are commonly mined from the atmospheres of gas giants using specialized scooper craft or other equipment, an industrial-scale process which requires sifting through large amounts of ordinary material to find the deuterium and helium-3 which exist at low concentrations. Some ships carry their own scooping and processing equipment, such as exploration vessels which may find themselves in need of fuel with no industrial source nearby.
This fuel, as expected, utilizes the deuterium / helium-3 fusion reaction cycle, where one atom of each fuse to form ordinary helium and a proton. This reaction has the important advantage of being aneutronic, meaning it does not produce any neutron radiation. Neutron radiation, being highly penetrating, is undesirable especially for a spaceship drive as it requires heavy shielding to stop. While some fixed power plants use neutronic reactions such as deuterium-tritium or deuterium-deuterium, and these were also used in early torch drives since they are easier to ignite, in the modern day D-He3 fusion enjoys a distinct advantage for space propulsion. There is a wrinkle to this, however—without a way to guarantee the deuterium only fuses with the helium-3, it can fuse with itself in neutronic side reactions.
This fuel mix commonly comes in pellets of various sizes, suitable for engine and power plant use, and are confined by magnetic fields and compressed to fusion by ignition beams. The reaction products can then be confined to create heat and energy (in a stationary reactor) or directed out into a rocket exhaust plume (for a spaceship drive). While not as much shielding is needed versus fully-neutronic fusion reactions, some is still required on account of the deuterium-deuterium side reactions. To produce it, both isotopes are commonly mined from the atmospheres of gas giants using specialized scooper craft or other equipment, an industrial-scale process which requires sifting through large amounts of ordinary material to find the deuterium and helium-3 which exist at low concentrations. Some ships carry their own scooping and processing equipment, such as exploration vessels which may find themselves in need of fuel with no industrial source nearby.
Common State
Cryogenic solid pellets
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