Robin wrote
You would get a far greater yield from your muons, if you use muon
catalyzed T-D
fusion to create 14 MeV neutrons that directly fission a Thorium
blanket.
Hi,
Well, there is no evidence for this conclusion insofar as "greater
yield" is concerned. This is because we do not know the details of the
energy release from muon induced fission in thorium. It could be more or
less than a two stage process involving fast neutrons and it would not
be a surprise if it was actually more.
At any rate, the energy release is so massive in either case that the
output difference is irrelevant considering the extra risk and cost of
tritium. What we do know is that tritium is a serious proliferation risk
and costs $30,000/gram. The aim of any alternative energy effort is
generally this - go small, go simple and go cheap - forget the large
expensive grid plant and find solutions for small scale implementation.
One more detail: since muon induced fission is not a neutron mediated
process, it is possible that minimally refined monazite ore can be used
in place of refined thorium metal. This would make it attractive for
countries like India, with massive deposits of ore and massive need of
energy at the lowest possible cost.
