Isaac Asimov has stated that “Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world.” Albert Einstein said, “Scientists investigate that which already is; engineers create that which has never been.” Freeman Dyson has said, “A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.” Yuan-Cheng Fung stated: “Engineering is quite different from science. Scientists try to understand nature. Engineers try to make things that do not exist in nature. Engineers stress invention.” And, Theodore von Karman said, “Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that never has been.”
Some engineering concepts suggested for consideration include, e.g.:
- Need for sufficient number of reaction sites in cathode.
- Need to be physically robust when subjected to related nuclear reactions and internal temperatures.
- Need the cathode to be replaceable.
- Need for gas manifold(s).
- Need to supply heat to downstream generators.
- Need to monitor gamma radiation.
- Need to handle any radioactive tritium.
Perhaps readers of this post could also suggest their own "one liner" engineering concepts and parameters of most interest to them. After a good list is composed, it would then be possible to add explanatory comments to each one.
