thermonuclear reactor
- noun
- /ˌθɜrmoʊˈnjuːklɪər riˈæktər/
- Specialized
:
reactor termonuclear
- I argued that relativistic space flight would probably remain unfeasible because of fundamental thermonuclear reactor limitations and the astronomical cost of antimatter; the only feasible propulsion options were solar and nuclear pulse.
Examples
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9200 thermonuclear reactors in tandem.
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The sun has a giant thermonuclear reactor in its core, which converts hydrogen to helium to produce energy.
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Lowell Wood, a Lawrence Livermore Laboratory scientist later of Star Wars fame, proposed that if we could find a little black hole in the solar system and drag it back to the vicinity of Earth, its tight little gravitational field would make the perfect confinement vessel for a thermonuclear reactor.
Academic text (1991) -
The site in southern France will host the largest thermonuclear reactor ever built.
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Scientists are researching the potential of thermonuclear reactors to provide sustainable energy for the future.
Synonyms
10
6.6
A machine that makes energy by joining atoms like the sun
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: a 'thermonuclear reactor' is a reactor that operates with thermonuclear (high-temperature nuclear) reactions, so a learner who knows 'thermonuclear' and 'reactor' can infer it produces energy via nuclear processes. Although the precise technical distinction (fusion vs. fission) may be specialized knowledge, the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and follows normal noun-compound logic.
Etymology
The name thermonuclear reactor comes from the parts thermo meaning heat and nuclear meaning the atom's centre, so it pictures using very high heat to make tiny atoms join. That joining, called 'fusion', gives a lot of 'energy', so the phrase means a reactor that makes power by 'fusion'.