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ukezi t1_j1b0zth wrote

Reply to comment by DontWorryImADr in How do fusion scientists expect to produce enough Tritium to sustain D-T fusion (see text)? by DanTheTerrible

Lithium 6 absorbs a neuron and gets split into a helium and a tritium, so you need two times as much as you need tritium.

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DontWorryImADr t1_j1dj3ra wrote

Why would you need twice as much if one lithium atom produces one tritium atom?

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ukezi t1_j1djugo wrote

Lithium-6 weights about double of tritium (Hydrogen-3). So for 1 kg tritium you need 2 kg lithium.

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DontWorryImADr t1_j1do3ej wrote

Yeah, that was silly. I looked up atomic masses, got the molecular mass for tritium and didn’t think twice about it in the math. Thanks for the catch!

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