Fiction v. Engineering: Part 2 - The Death Star's Kyber Crystal Reactor (from Various Star Wars films)
I've been wanting to post about Rogue One since it opened in December, but to avoid potentially revealing important plot details I decided to hold off for a while. Since it's been a while...
One question that has bugged me theone two three multiple times I've seen Rogue One is the mechanism of using Kyber crystals as a fuel, either for peaceful purposes or for a superweapon such as the Death Star. (As discussed in the novel Catalyst, contentious objector Galen Erso conducted research into using Kyber crystals as a source of renewable energy and was mislead into doing military work for the Empire while continuing his research under that guise.) The energy requirements for the Death Star to destroy a planet such as Earth or Alderaan (seen in A New Hope; the smaller detonations seen in Rogue One on Jedha and Scarif would require a fraction of that), as estimated by students at the University of Leicester in 2011, is 2.25(10^32) Joules. Which is 1.87(10^24) gallons of gas, 1.07(10^15) times the yield of the largest nuclear weapon ever built, the Soviet Tsar Bomba, and 1.05(10^14) times the total energy expended by all nuclear testing ever conducted by humans. Since Tsar Bomba is 60,000 kilograms, you would have to lug around 6.42(10^19) kilograms of nuclear fuel per planetary detention. If you were to be able to extract with 100% efficiency mass from energy (nuclear fission and fusion are in the fraction of a percent to single percent range, for reference), the required mass per planetary detonation would be 2.5(10^14) kilograms.
So, that's a lot of power. And the weapons designers of the Star Wars universe turned to a source that, in universe, is incredibly energy dense: Kyber crystals. Used by Jedi and Sith alike to power their lightsabers, they have extremely high energy densities due to a connection to the Force. While this isn't specified numerically in any of the accompanying materials for the films, one can assume that it is significantly more energy dense than fissile materials on Earth such as Uranium and Plutonium. In appearance, Kyber crystals are plain clear crystals (see figure 1); especially in comparison to the dull rocks that are fuel grade uranium (seen in figure 2) and plutonium. Interestingly enough, glass can be made containing uranium - which looks vaguely creepy and awesome (figure 3). There are certain crystals (e.g. Autunite, seen figure 4) that do contain uranium, but in much lower concentrations than that used for fueling.
In Catalyst, Galen Erso's research into Kyber crystals is described - involving stimulation by lasers with the stimulation impacted by the crystal's shape, orientation, and structure. In terms of known science in our universe, the closest process to this is nuclear fission, in which an atom of an unstable element (such as Uranium 235) is bombarded with neutrons. This imparts energy to the atom's nucleus and causes the element to split into two more stable atoms, free electrons, and energy. This may also cause other atoms to split in a chain reaction. In a similar way, the atoms in a Kyber crystal may be induced to split by the energy provided by the laser; the dependence on the orientation, shape, and structure may suggest that the light is refracted and concentrated to cause the fission of atoms in the crystal. The crystal may then release energy and light, causing a similar chain reaction.
Much like Kyber reactors, nuclear fission has both been used in weapons (atomic bombs, for example) and in generating power (every operating nuclear power plant uses fission). Depending on the exact nature of the chemistry of Kyber crystals, the energy output could be in the neighborhood of what's needed to power the Death Star. In most power plant reactors, heat not recovered in a turbine is release to the atmosphere in excess steam. The Death Star needed a similar way to release heat, hence the exhaust ports. In most power plants, the reaction is controlled to prevent the reactor from releasing dangerously uncontrolled energy. In a similar fashion, Erso designed the reactor in the Death Star to have those systems - but not nearly in as robust a manner as typical human power plant designers. The introduction of excess stimulus in the form of a proton torpedo would cause a reaction that would overload the control systems, and allow for an uncontrolled chain reaction.
While the technology used for the Death Star is something we are a galaxy far, far away from, the underpinnings of it resemble that of current human technology. And while we might not have the power to destroy planets from nuclear fission, we do have the power to commit both terrible acts of destruction and provide energy for peaceful activities.
Photo Sources:
Kyber crystal image 1: http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1604040/the-clever-place-star-wars-rogue-one-hid-a-kyber-crystal
Uranium images 2 and 3: http://periodictable.com/Elements/092/
Autunite image 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autunite
One question that has bugged me the
So, that's a lot of power. And the weapons designers of the Star Wars universe turned to a source that, in universe, is incredibly energy dense: Kyber crystals. Used by Jedi and Sith alike to power their lightsabers, they have extremely high energy densities due to a connection to the Force. While this isn't specified numerically in any of the accompanying materials for the films, one can assume that it is significantly more energy dense than fissile materials on Earth such as Uranium and Plutonium. In appearance, Kyber crystals are plain clear crystals (see figure 1); especially in comparison to the dull rocks that are fuel grade uranium (seen in figure 2) and plutonium. Interestingly enough, glass can be made containing uranium - which looks vaguely creepy and awesome (figure 3). There are certain crystals (e.g. Autunite, seen figure 4) that do contain uranium, but in much lower concentrations than that used for fueling.
Figure 1: A Kyber crystal as seen in Rogue One
Figure 2: Uranium fuel
Figure 3: Uranium glass marble
Figure 4: Autunite
In Catalyst, Galen Erso's research into Kyber crystals is described - involving stimulation by lasers with the stimulation impacted by the crystal's shape, orientation, and structure. In terms of known science in our universe, the closest process to this is nuclear fission, in which an atom of an unstable element (such as Uranium 235) is bombarded with neutrons. This imparts energy to the atom's nucleus and causes the element to split into two more stable atoms, free electrons, and energy. This may also cause other atoms to split in a chain reaction. In a similar way, the atoms in a Kyber crystal may be induced to split by the energy provided by the laser; the dependence on the orientation, shape, and structure may suggest that the light is refracted and concentrated to cause the fission of atoms in the crystal. The crystal may then release energy and light, causing a similar chain reaction.
Much like Kyber reactors, nuclear fission has both been used in weapons (atomic bombs, for example) and in generating power (every operating nuclear power plant uses fission). Depending on the exact nature of the chemistry of Kyber crystals, the energy output could be in the neighborhood of what's needed to power the Death Star. In most power plant reactors, heat not recovered in a turbine is release to the atmosphere in excess steam. The Death Star needed a similar way to release heat, hence the exhaust ports. In most power plants, the reaction is controlled to prevent the reactor from releasing dangerously uncontrolled energy. In a similar fashion, Erso designed the reactor in the Death Star to have those systems - but not nearly in as robust a manner as typical human power plant designers. The introduction of excess stimulus in the form of a proton torpedo would cause a reaction that would overload the control systems, and allow for an uncontrolled chain reaction.
While the technology used for the Death Star is something we are a galaxy far, far away from, the underpinnings of it resemble that of current human technology. And while we might not have the power to destroy planets from nuclear fission, we do have the power to commit both terrible acts of destruction and provide energy for peaceful activities.
Photo Sources:
Kyber crystal image 1: http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1604040/the-clever-place-star-wars-rogue-one-hid-a-kyber-crystal
Uranium images 2 and 3: http://periodictable.com/Elements/092/
Autunite image 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autunite
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