7 ms·
You don't need a significant flow of argon, just enough to keep unwanted gasses out of the waveguide. It's possible there exists a material that is transparent
by MadnessASAP 3mo ago
You don't need a significant flow of argon, just enough to keep unwanted gasses out of the waveguide.
It's possible there exists a material that is transparent to mm waves, airtight, and can survive the conditions at the bottom of the hole. In such a case they could cap the waveguide and prevent any gas leakage.
I'm quite sure Quaise is well aware that Argon isn't cheap and are already exploring multiple avenues for reducing its usage.
It is interesting that they have to use Argon instead of the more typical Nitrogen or SF6. A waveguide with such a significant pressure differential is decidedly unusual and a unique challenger for what they are doing.
- pfdietz 3mo agoSF6 is a horrifically powerful greenhouse gas, so I doubt it could be used. Its GWP is somewhere around 23,000 on a 100 year timescale.
- MadnessASAP 3mo agoOh yeah, there's no shortage of reasons not to use SF6. Even in conventional waveguides, as far as I know most designs these days prefer nitrogen or dried atmospheric air.
- superxpro12 3mo agoAnytime i see fluoride, im immediately concerned about anything in its immediate surroundings...
- pfdietz 3mo agoSome fluorine compounds are quite stable. SF6 has two downsides: its GWP from very great stability in the atmosphere (it needs to rise into the mesosphere to be decomposed, not just the stratosphere, giving it an atmospheric lifetime of as much as 3000 years) and toxic compounds produced when it finally is broken down by energetic processes like arc discharges.
- redsocksfan45 3mo ago[dead]
- mrguyorama 3mo agoYou DO need significant flow to extract the "Drilled" material. This is such a sketchy company. Their "Demo" video doesn't demo anything. At least this is progress though. In previous hype videos they just pretended you don't need to extract anything!
- anakaine 3mo agoSorry mate, but thats quite the underinformed reply. You have pote tially hundreds of metres of drill string sitting above the face of the drill. Material is being vaporised or cut, and depending on whether this setup is traditional circulation or reverse circulation, you're going to have vaporised material, cut material, and sidewall material appearing at the cutting face. You do need a lot of gas to move it out of thw way, even if its dust. You have only the hole down the centre of the rotating string, or the hole between the outer and inner steel jacket of the string through which to send gas. That in its own is not a teivially small space. You need to swap rods, which necessarily introduces a depressurisation pathway and event every 6m, and of course you need enough pressure to lift cuttings. Gas recapture will be very difficult and dirty, so recirculation is going to be extremely troublesome, not to mention escape to formation.