RedditPP Mascot

RedditPP

r/theydidthemath • … • u/MelangeBot

[Request] The Rolls-Royce SMR (Small Modular reactor) weights a 169 tons and can produce 470 MW of power giving it a power to weight ratio of 2.78 MW/t. Would it be possible and/or practical to build an airplane around this that would propel itself by an electric jet engine?

edf's exist for rc planes. Basically just electrical fans. They don't work at scale because we don't have a power source with the needed energy density. We can increase their effeciency by also heating up the air in front of it with an electric heating element and then funnel this hot air in to a compressor, kind of simulating the mechanism of a fuel based jet engine.

Could this work? How long would the wings have to be to provide the needed lift? Would it be practical? How much money would the run way cost to support this kind of weight on take off and landing?

— 0