Some of this is intentionally obscured, because tech is not usually clear on what relates. But basically there are a bunch of different items on the list that will improve fusion in one format or another. However, not all of them directly influence the fusion 2.0 project that you have in Improved CCF. Some won't be immediately applicable, but will influence fusion 3.0, or lead towards 2.A, or 2.B fusion, or even 3.A and 3.B fusion with their own advantages and tradeoffs.
Now, Tech versus Platform, and Improved Fusion
Basically, unlike military development where it goes
- Lock in a design
- Build said design
- Refit within the scope of said design's inherent limitations.
A lot of civilian development is a bit different, because unlike the military, where no matter how much you upgrade a panzer III, it is running into the limits of its hull, power pack, and basic design compromises, a lot of civilian systems are more friendly to doing limited, iterative runs. It is a somewhat more costly way of doing things, but at the same time, it is something you very much can do.
The ICCF option is tech because it, on it own, pushes the technological boundaries. Right now, that pushing would be relatively limited and conservative, fixing the longevity problems, making the system as a whole a little bit more efficient. But it then takes into account broader fusion and fusion adjacent technologies to see how much of an improvement you can make practically, both as limited run systems, and more generally deployable ones.
Now, there is an opportunity cost to doing it this way, but that cost is fairly minimal. It is a couple dice, a chunk of resources, and then you have shiny improved version of your power plants ready to hit the construction button.
Microfusion
Part of the issue with microfusion is that it is a fundamentally different bit of the tech web. It is an important toehold on that bit of the tech web, but, basically, it is microscale cold fusion. It is not quite an arc reactor, but it fits the same idea as Tony's first generation version. "that can run your heart for fifty lifetimes." "Yeah, or something big for fifteen minutes." Or, for another reference, Fallout's Microfusion Cells, which are a somewhat direct inspiration. On the other hand, the continuous cycle fusion is macroscale hot fusion. It is not quite a Tokamak, but it fits in the same sort of design space. There is, of course, crossover between these two parts of the broader web, but it is something where those crossover points are not always, or even often, immediately observable or applicable.
The following are the things that are immediately applicable to directly improving fusion energy production. However, there are a lot of other techs that lead to various improvements in the longer term.
Bergen Superconductors
Sparkle Shield
Advanced Materials Bay
Helium 3 Harvesting
Sorry I have been a bit absent from the thread, Been trying (and mostly failing honestly) to hammer through a decent portion of the update before I get sucked into parent involved stuff for a lot of the rest of the month.
