The laws of physics, in terms of the elements encountered in ED, are already out of whack. Several of the elements we collect as raw materials - most notably polonium - are radioactive. The most stable isotope of polonium has a half-life of 138 days, yet I never notice it decaying away from my stockpile.
The Tritium Rises (Wrath of Sub-Surface Mining?)
- Thread starter TheSisko
- Start date
The laws of physics, in terms of the elements encountered in ED, are already out of whack. Several of the elements we collect as raw materials - most notably polonium - are radioactive. The most stable isotope of polonium has a half-life of 138 days, yet I never notice it decaying away from my stockpile.
So no Gas Giant mining in this release. I really would like to know how much fuel a jump uses. I just hope the reveal on the 2nd does not spend all the time on useless information like, colours, stickers and market trading. Also keen to know how much upgrades are, one would guess 1 - 5 Billion for an upgrade if we go by our ships right now.
Looks like Gas Giants will just remain eye candy for another update.
If atmospheric thingies are to be included at the end of this year, then that update might be here (Soon™)®
Nice picture btw
(I've always wondered what would happen if they paint a phony entrance on the back of a station
)
I admit, I am a fan of Sub-Surface mining.
I guess that makes.....3 of us?
I like the idea of subsurface mining. Its gameplay is a lot of fun. It's just a shame it's pretty pointless; I'd like to have a reason to do it more.
Bring on sub-surface mining for tritium.
Hold on a minute...
Putting two and two together... scooping tritium from gas giant upper atmospheres?
A shame if not.
Tritium has a radioactive half-life of around a dozen years, so unless the laws of physics have radically changed, we won't be finding it in asteroids. Traces of it are produced in the atmosphere by cosmic-ray bombardment, but the main source is transmutation of lithium. And lithium hydroxide is already in-game.
Hitting a lithium atom with a neutron produces helium and tritium. The molecular mass of lithium hydroxide is 23, and the atomic mass of tritium is 3, so 23t of lithium hydroxide should yield 3t of tritium, assuming 100% efficiency. Unless some more exotic method is assumed, of course.
Hitting a lithium atom with a neutron produces helium and tritium. The molecular mass of lithium hydroxide is 23, and the atomic mass of tritium is 3, so 23t of lithium hydroxide should yield 3t of tritium, assuming 100% efficiency. Unless some more exotic method is assumed, of course.
Well, there goes the physics in Elite. It's a gas and can be made in a reactor.
Tritium is Radioactive and the H in H bomb yet it is also in your drinking water, can be bought without restriction and is even inside you right now. We demystify the magic and see why this radioactive substance is actually not bad for us.
What is Tritium?
First discovered by Mark Oliphant, Ernest Rutherford and Paul Harteck in 1934. It is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen mainly used in research activities, neutron generators and fusion reactors.
Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen with 3 Neutrons, Deuterium has 2 neutrons and Hydrogen only one.
When blended with a phosphor, a continuous glow is achieved.
This glows for decades, is radioactive, but strangely still safe!
Different phosphors emit different colored light when exposed to tritium, so colors can easily be made.
It is everywhere
As a form of hydrogen it is naturally found in air, water and you likely have some of it in your body right now.
How is Tritium made?
So, unless we have a module to act as a reactor, or scoop it from a star, it cannot be mined (although Frontier stated so)
- Naturally – When cosmic rays interact with nitrogen or deuterium in the upper atmosphere, it forms Tritium and carbon. The Tritium will then fall on the earth in the form of rain giving us the natural form of the radioactive chemical.
- Artificially – Tritium is achieved by bombarding hydrogen with neutrons in an accelerator or a nuclear reactor.
Just thought you and Frontier should know.
o7...
You're both assuming that this game cares about Physics.
It doesn't. Goto Sag-A, drop out of super-cruise, snug up to the black hole and disable your FSD. Then talk to me about Physics in Elite Dangerous.
If Frontier say were going to find Tritium in asteroids, then we will.
I've been thinking this for a while - sub surface mining, but not in rings but in actual asteroid belts... both of those are widely underused and mostly ignored.
So if we all have some in us, how about throwing a few slaves in the boiler/fusion generator.
Problem solved
Problem solved
I wonder how much Tritium sells for per ton (normal fuel sells for 50CR/ton by comparison).
Yessssssss!!!I think we will be mining water for hydrogen to create deuterium and then tritium using a new module.
Or something along those lines. Until we can mine Gas giants from the DLC.
Oh yer and harvest it from Space whales living in the gas giants !
I wish
blow up orcas and belugas to use the blubber for fuel!!
mom a serious note, that trailer is so damn cool!!
If that were true, it WOULD give us all a good reason to go "mining" on gas giants. Just look out for space whales.
They are releasing Fleet Carriers, not a new mining mechanic.
It's a gas (at deep space temperatures?) in its pure form.
Logically, it's more likely to be found in the form of tritiated water ice in asteroids (or comets?). This is where the H in H²O is replaced by Tritium to become super-heavy water. This would then be refined (in our refineries) to produce pure Tritium.
Anyway, when did Elite ever respect the logic of solid/liquid/gas when it comes to mining commodities? Liquid Oxygen comes to mind as an element that, rather unintuitively, springs forth from asteroids in solid form. I'm sure there must other substances we can mine that would be in different states of matter in reality than the ubiquitous solid mining framents in the game.
It would be cool if we had a use for Subsurface Missiles though... I agree.
Logically, it's more likely to be found in the form of tritiated water ice in asteroids (or comets?). This is where the H in H²O is replaced by Tritium to become super-heavy water. This would then be refined (in our refineries) to produce pure Tritium.
Anyway, when did Elite ever respect the logic of solid/liquid/gas when it comes to mining commodities? Liquid Oxygen comes to mind as an element that, rather unintuitively, springs forth from asteroids in solid form. I'm sure there must other substances we can mine that would be in different states of matter in reality than the ubiquitous solid mining framents in the game.
It would be cool if we had a use for Subsurface Missiles though... I agree.
Well if you release fleet carriers that don't scoop hydrogen but does need something that we've never collected before, logically FD would have to release this new gathering technique to refuel them. Could be something mined in icy rings or mining gas giants. One way or another, something new is going to have to be added to fuel them.
I'm sure it'll all be explained …. SOON!™
Then it'll probably happen.
I admit, I am a fan of Sub-Surface mining.
I guess that makes.....3 of us?
I like the process of SS mining.
I just don't like that the results are so pitiful that it isn't worth the effort.
I'm not entirely sure how much of SS mining is luck and how much is skill (related to the way the "layers of ore" appear) but if it was tweaked so that a skilful SS miner could squeeze, say, 10t of ore out of a deposit then I'd probably spend more time at it.
The biggest problem I have with it is that I'll often launch one missile, hit the first "blue zone" and get a chunk, then I'll launch a 2nd missile and it'll burrow, and burrow, and burrow, and another "blue zone" simply doesn't appear by the time my missile has burrowed as far as it can.
I guess it could be argued that if SS mining is the only way to obtain Tritium then the results aren't pitiful any more but it'd be nice if there was more scope for developing a skill that'd make the task more rewarding.
Set it up so a skilful SS miner would only need to mine, say, 50 deposits to get a full tank of gas whereas it might take 150-200 deposits if you make a halfassed job of it.