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Fusion drive: Difference between revisions
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==Description== | ==Description== | ||
[[File:Autumn Arrival.png|thumb|250px|Rear view of {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}, showing the thrust nozzles of its fusion engines.]] | [[File:Autumn Arrival.png|thumb|250px|Rear view of {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}, showing the thrust nozzles of its fusion engines.]] | ||
The primary component of a fusion drive is | The primary component of a fusion drive is an [[Wikipedia:Inertial electrostatic confinement|inertial electrostatic]] [[fusion reactor]] or a series of such reactors. The [[plasma]] generated by the reactors is channeled into a series of exhaust manifolds, which vector it into the ship's engine nozzles. The drive exhaust serves as reaction mass, providing propulsion for the ship. The drive system also includes an exotic mechanism that utilizes higher-order manifolds to eliminate the otherwise devastating fusion backblast.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/reality-of-halo-plasma/401b13b9-f097-45f3-a0a3-227d8f7d130a/posts '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Reality of Halo: Plasma'']</ref> As suggested by its technical name,<ref name="bulletin101012"/> the deuterium fusion reactor is powered by nuclear fusion reactions between [[deuterium]] atoms.<ref name="fs275"/> | ||
The main components of the fusion drive are typically located in a ship's [[engineering]].<ref name="maw"/> The number of fusion engines varies between ship classes. [[UNSC frigate]]s are typically equipped with two primary reactors<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]]'' (''"Both engine cores have spun to zero."'')</ref> and at least another two secondary reactors,<ref name="fs275">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 275''</ref> while {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s are powered by an array of three fusion reactors.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/577839090903298928/DDR-A340024-1115-08-27-52.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Data Drop 5'']</ref> Larger ships, such as the mobile hospital {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}}, could possess as many as six reactors.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 97''</ref> The number of engine exhausts also varies greatly; ships usually have two or more primary adjacent exhaust nozzles, and a series of smaller, secondary ones. | The main components of the fusion drive are typically located in a ship's [[engineering]].<ref name="maw"/> The number of fusion engines varies between ship classes. [[UNSC frigate]]s are typically equipped with two primary reactors<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]]'' (''"Both engine cores have spun to zero."'')</ref> and at least another two secondary reactors,<ref name="fs275">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 275''</ref> while {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s are powered by an array of three fusion reactors.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/577839090903298928/DDR-A340024-1115-08-27-52.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Data Drop 5'']</ref> Larger ships, such as the mobile hospital {{UNSCShip|Hopeful}}, could possess as many as six reactors.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 97''</ref> The number of engine exhausts also varies greatly; ships usually have two or more primary adjacent exhaust nozzles, and a series of smaller, secondary ones. | ||