Studies of an Aerosol Core Reactor/Laser’s Critical Properties

Abstract

It’s well known that high power lasers in space will require an energy source with a high ratio of power to unit mass. This high ratio can easily be achieved with nuclear fuels (1). Nuclear fuels can be used to drive lasers indirectly (by first converting the ion and ray energy produced by the nuclear reaction into electrical energy) and directly (by using the ion and ray energy produced by the nuclear reaction to create ionization and excitation in the laser medium). The direct method of using nuclear fuels has led to what is commonly known as the Nuclear-Pumped-Laser (NPL). To date, a variety of NPLs have been discovered (2). One of the major problems in the development of NPLs thus far is in the nuclear fuel to laser interface. A system utilizing a transparent fuel to laser interface, called the Aerosol Core Reactor Energy Conversion System, was proposed by one of the authors to eliminate this problem (3).