Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor

The ICF, spanning 17 blocks long and 5 blocks wide.

The Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor, most often referred to simply as the ICF, is a late game nuclear fusion reactor that uses two immensely powerful modular laser emitters focused onto a small pellet of fusible materials in order to generate conditions conducive for elements to fuse. Besides from the DFC, it is the most powerful energy producing device in NTM with a thermal output that can readily produce upwards of multiple GHE/s. The core of the ICF is not modular, but the laser emitters are, allowing for the level of power production and fuel consumption to be carefully balanced to individual needs.

Once constructed, the ICF can be run efficiently on relatively inexpensive fuels and at a very efficient fuel usage rate, making it require minimal processing infrastructure to supply automatically with fuel relative to its power output. It can also work with a variety of kinds of fuel pellets which each have their own specific properties, making tuning of its output dynamically relatively easy. This efficiency, power, and adaptability is offset by its immense cost of manufacture, taking thousands of ingots of various metals and expensive late game materials to make along with extensive heat exchanging setups to accommodate the immense thermal output of the reactor.

Components

Reactor Chamber

ICF Reactor Chamber GUI with important areas highlighted in blue and numbered.

The primary reaction chamber of the ICF where fusion and heat production occurs. Accepts input from lasers at both ends through the small red input hole and receives fluid input and output from the multiple ports set both on the sides of the laser chambers and on top of the main chamber itself. The reactor chamber is the only machine in the whole ICF assembly that has a GUI with most of the important information and controls being contained within it, though lasers must still be externally controlled.

1. Thermal Output. Total thermal input the pellet is receiving. A sum of the total power output of both lasers in TU.
2. Cold Cooling Fluid Buffer. Total amount out of 512,000mb of cold cooling fluid of a specified type that is used to transfer heat out of the reactor.
3. Fluid Identifier. Specifies the type of cooling fluid that will be used in the reactor.
4. Pellet Input. Input for filled fuel pellets. Fuel pellets will be pushed automatically to slot 5 if it is currently empty.
5. Current Pellet. The pellet that will undergo fusion if the reactor is fed laser input. Can be removed and placed back in the reactor during operation without consequence.
6. Pellet Output. Output for depleted fuel pellets. Depleted fuel pellets in slot 5 will be pushed automatically to itself.
7. Hot Cooling Fluid Buffer. Total amount out of 512,000mb of hot cooling fluid of a specified type that can be piped out of the reactor to transfer heat.
8. Reactor Heat. Current heat stored in the reactor out of 1,000,000,000,000TU. Will be transferred into the cold cooling fluid if possible.
9. Stellar Flux. Quantity of stellar flux stored in the reactor out of 24,000mb. As of 1.0.27_X5000, stellar flux does not have a use.

Laser

A typical cross section of laser components, though the red superchargers on the edges are optional.

The initiator of fusion in the ICF. Composed of multiple blocks utilizing a similar system to a PWR, including ports, a controller, laser cells, laser capacitors, and more. Lasers cannot be reflected or redirected and thus must be placed outputting directly into the ICF reactor chamber. the exact nature of their operation is quite complex and involves multiple specific rules about where each component can be placed and what the ideal ratio of elements is for efficiency or thermal output, but their general behavior is outlined here.

Note: Each block is prefixed with "ICF" in game.

A lasers primary and most essential component is its controller which will designate where the laser will shoot out from. After placing this in line with and pointing towards the ICF reactor chamber, a line of laser cells must be placed directly behind it and extend as far back as is desired. These cells then should have at least one flash bulb adjacent to them and these flash bulbs should then have at least one capacitor adjacent to them. Turbochargers must be placed adjacent to capacitors to operate. Once a desired interior construction is achieved, encase all of the components in laser casing in a similar manner to the PWR and replace a few with ports in order to input power and control the lasers operation with redstone. Once that is completed, right click on the controller to assemble the laser which if no errors are detected will now have a gray border on most of its blocks.

Below is a calculator for calculating the total power consumption of the laser in HE/s. The thermal power output of the reactor will be equal to this number. Divide it by 20 to convert it from HE/s to HE/t.

Fuel

The fusible material contained within the ICF. Composed of lead-zirconium spheres housing fuel mixtures of a variety of different types which can be made in the ICF fuel pellet maker and each of which has their own special properties such as required startup energy and reactivity multiplier. Each pellet is composed of 1,000mb of each fluid placed in the pellet maker, meaning that the operation of the ICF is highly efficient and that it requires only relatively small fuel production capabilities in order to be operated continuously. In addition to being able to be of mixed fuel types, pellets can also be muon catalyzed which will reduce the temperature required for them to initiate fusion.

Once depleted, a fuel pellet will yield an empty pellet housing along with some ionized particles and iron powder as a marginal fuel reprocessing benefit.

This calculator returns the amount of hot coolant the ICF reactor produces per second using coolant and fuel pellet values. The calculator above this can be used to find out the Laser power in MHE/s.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Physically cannot melt down, the only hazard is standing in front of the lasers while they are active.
• Immense power output.
• Variable laser power output allows for the same fuel to have its power production tuned.
• Can be easily shut down by simply turning off each laser.
• Cheap, simple to manufacture fuel.

Neutral

• Produces a byproduct passively through operation which will not impede progress if the buffer containing it is filled.

Cons

• Immensely expensive, especially if powerful laser setups are being utilized.
• Absolutely massive, wider than a chunk lengthwise.
• Requires a large amount of power over an extended period of time to start up, making auxiliary power generation a necessity in the event of a blackout.

Trivia

• Based on a real life fusion reactor design of the same name and applying the same underlying principles. Most well known because of the National Ignition Facility which operates strictly as a proof of concept and research device rather than as commercial power generating equipment.