Vapour Drive

Vapour Drive is the system of energy production whereby particles of water vapour are broken into hydrogen ions that power a hydrogen fusion reactor.

The name generally refers to the system used on airships, although the system used by floatrock Power Stations is mostly the same. The system is composed of three components: the Ramscoop, the Reducer and the Reactor. In floatrock installations, the role of the Ramscoop is replaced by a water feed, typically from a Cloud Farm, that supplies aqua.

Molecules of water in liquid or gas form are piped to the Reducer from the Ramscoop or water source. The Reducer breaks the chemical bonds of the water, forming hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is then fed to a bundle of fusion reactors known as the Fusion Furnace. These are configured in various ways to fuse the hydrogen into different elements at differing rates of energy production, with byproducts ranging from helium up to iron. The produced energy is then used to drive the ships systems, including the Reducer. For this reason, a small amount of hydrogen fuel is kept at in a reserve reservoir for starting the reactors.

In the moist skies of Azimuth, vapour drive can work almost indefinitely, although it is more productive in cloud than 'open sea'. Also, as the source of nearly all power generation, water is an essential and highly valued resource throughout the world, collected by the industry of Cloud Farming.

Vapour Drive is sometimes an informal synonymn for the actual reactor itself.