I’m not an expert on this stuff either obviously, so I’m just speculating on the benefits China might see in is pursuing this. It’s worth noting that these things aren’t mutually exclusive. I can see how this could be used for specific situations while drones are used as a more general type of weapon. Kind of how Russia uses hypersonics for some pinpoint strikes on high value targets.
I figure there is a reason they’re pursuing this, but could also be a moonshot project where they don’t necessarily expect it to become practical, but want to see how far they can push it. As you said, they’re bound to discover some new tech through this process so even if the particular application doesn’t pan out, it’s not a waste of time to understand this stuff.
The goals are a bit different though. The problem with plasma containment in fusion reactors is that plasma moves in unpredictable ways, and the amount of energy you need for a reliable containment field is higher than the energy output of the reactor. For this sort of application you’d be using the field for a containment of a metal slug and it just means eating more power. Regarding the power issue, it’s worth noting that it would likely use supercapacitors. So you don’t necessarily need a powerplant that can output 25 MW directly. You’d just charge up the capacitors for a few shots.
And yeah, it looks like China’s taking a very broad approach to tech development. This sort of system could potentially be used for launching small satellites as well.
I’m not an expert on this stuff either obviously, so I’m just speculating on the benefits China might see in is pursuing this. It’s worth noting that these things aren’t mutually exclusive. I can see how this could be used for specific situations while drones are used as a more general type of weapon. Kind of how Russia uses hypersonics for some pinpoint strikes on high value targets.
I figure there is a reason they’re pursuing this, but could also be a moonshot project where they don’t necessarily expect it to become practical, but want to see how far they can push it. As you said, they’re bound to discover some new tech through this process so even if the particular application doesn’t pan out, it’s not a waste of time to understand this stuff.
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I wonder if you could use a magnetic containment field or something similar ways plasma is controlled in a fusion reactor.
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The goals are a bit different though. The problem with plasma containment in fusion reactors is that plasma moves in unpredictable ways, and the amount of energy you need for a reliable containment field is higher than the energy output of the reactor. For this sort of application you’d be using the field for a containment of a metal slug and it just means eating more power. Regarding the power issue, it’s worth noting that it would likely use supercapacitors. So you don’t necessarily need a powerplant that can output 25 MW directly. You’d just charge up the capacitors for a few shots.
And yeah, it looks like China’s taking a very broad approach to tech development. This sort of system could potentially be used for launching small satellites as well.