RE: Steam Powered Starships?

I seem to remember that the new reactors to be used on the International

Space Station were a type that pretty much directly converted radiation 
into energy - the Russians were getting pretty good at small reactor
design 
& tech before everything went belly up.  Has anybody else heard of this?

Noah

-----Original Message-----
From:	Michael Blair [SMTP:amfortas@hotmail.com]
Sent:	Friday, July 17, 1998 04:24 AM
To:	ftgzg-l@bolton.ac.uk
Subject:	Steam Powered Starships?

Steam Powered Starships?
It seems a safe bet that the ships in Full Thrust are Fusion powered.
The question is how do that convert heat from the reactor into
electricity?

The best way I know of doing this is by a steam plant as in a 20th
century fission powered submarine. This means that a starship will have
steam turbines and live steam lines running in the engine room.
Emergency power might be generated by a solar boiler. A mirror array
focuses sunlight onto water tubes, producing steam for the turbines.

This brings about the image of a fleet in orbit having to wait until
they have raised steam before moving or fighting.

The more things change...
MRB

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