Plasma Reactors

HU employs a large number and array of power generation systems, of which the most used are Plasma Reactors. Plasma Reactors are typically small, moderately efficient means of power generation that produce adequate energy with low mass and risk, and are typically utilized in short-range fighters, drones and for the use of larger field equipment and many types of heavy armor, such as ADOMS and many APCs, as well as other armored vehicles.

The name Plasma Reactor is, in and of itself, a misnomer, mainly due to the fact that there are no real "reactions" occurring within the device itself; mainly, they are more batteries than reactors, due to their design being closer to the former than the latter. Plasma generation begins when a concentrated and specially formulated mass of plasma is pumped into a vacuum-insulated central tank within a starship such as a Battleship, Carrier, Cruiser, or the like from a storage containment vessel located at all HU outposts and facilities. The plasma is super-heated utilizing power generated by the ship's reactor or power source, then stored until such a time as smaller ships which utilize plasma energy storage dock with it, at which juncture the spent plasma in their batteries is pumped out while fresh plasma from the central storage tank is pumped in to replace it, with the spent plasma being pumped out of a second tank it flows into after being spent. After refueling is complete, the smaller ship will undock with the larger and begin drawing on the plasma's thermal energy by drawing it through a series of sinks that tap into it's heat, converting it directly from thermal energy to electrical, then storing the drained plasma mass in a second tank to be pumped back into a larger ship's storage tank in the future.

Plasma Reactors were developed to replace Thaddium reactors in small ships, as the materials necessary to build such reactors, especially the Thaddium that fuels them, are difficult to obtain. The plasma used for the power source on the other hand is relatively cheap, can be produced quite easily and can be utilized with moderate to high efficiency.