I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I expext that while RTGs are simple and reliable, that they aren’t cost-competitive with nuclear reactors per unit of energy generated.
From memory, we have actually used them on Earth in a few situations where we need a very long-lasting, albeit very limited in quantity, source of power, like remote, unmanned lighthouses that aren’t connected to anything.
Also, I don’t believe that, at least with the ones I’ve read about, one can control their power output. It’s just a container of some material that’s got enough passive radioactivity to stay warm enough to generate some electricity.
But it generates electricity, right? So couldn’t we scale it up? I admit this is way out of my sphere of knowledge, which is why I’m asking.
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Thanks!
I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I expext that while RTGs are simple and reliable, that they aren’t cost-competitive with nuclear reactors per unit of energy generated.
From memory, we have actually used them on Earth in a few situations where we need a very long-lasting, albeit very limited in quantity, source of power, like remote, unmanned lighthouses that aren’t connected to anything.
Also, I don’t believe that, at least with the ones I’ve read about, one can control their power output. It’s just a container of some material that’s got enough passive radioactivity to stay warm enough to generate some electricity.