Plasma Conduits

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Plasma conduits are integral to the function of many high-energy systems, exploiting the emission behaviours of arcane plasmas to cheaply and safely transport heat at extreme temperatures (>5000 K) without need of bulky coils or secondary coolant loops.

Design

Plasma conduits are fundamentally arcane resonance chambers. Neutral aetheric radiation from the arcane plasma within is reflected by successive layers each placed at different, slightly offset radii and responsive to different frequencies; the resulting series of standing waves generates sufficient arcane radiation pressure to limit plasma expansion. Each layer is accompanied by a dielectric mirror, minimising the escape of plasma-generated electromagnetic radiation from the conduit. Plasma conduits are still fairly lossy, however, further incentivizing the creation of systems with higher plasma velocities.

Bends in plasma conduit systems are fairly complex due to the need to employ series of nonparallel resonant chambers without introducing undesirable lengthwise resonances, and are sensitive to even minor joint perturbations from vibration and thermal expansion cycles. Many engineers opt to use conventional electromagnetic containment for joints as a result, though there are a few notable exceptions.