The Return Of Nuclear Power !?!

[Screwdriver]

Apparently, they've spent £220M to date just thinking about which site it might be. I looked at the website of the "South West Nuclear Hub" who are propose using either the old Berkley or Oldbury Magnox sites on the River Severn; the website makes a good case for that. I don't see it going north of Nottingham.

Given that it will take a fair time to build the site (best part of 10 years?), the work on the fine detail of the reactor can continue to be investigated at Culham and at the international site in France. In 10 years, there won't be much nuclear (fission) left in the UK - 2 stations perhaps, down from 33?

We need to be building regular nuclear power stations asap. I can understand the reluctance for anyone to commit to fission when fusion power is "just around the corner" but without wishing to flog a dead horse, it just isn't.

 

[mtt.tr]

We need to be building regular nuclear power stations asap. I can understand the reluctance for anyone to commit to fission when fusion power is "just around the corner" but without wishing to flog a dead horse, it just isn't.

Well that should atleast buy us 50 years

 

[daleyd]

Well we've all got Wiki and if you really want to be pedantic; your précis is not accurate either. The "fission weapon" is the uranium/plutonium case as you describe it. The weapon is not inside itself. I refer to the fission bomb being "wrapped around" the fusion fuel but it is quite interesting to note (if you want to be pedantic) it is laid out much like you would configure a shaped charge.

Damned clever those humans. If only such cleverness for weaponry could be put to more productive uses.

No it really isn't the casing, the primary fission is at the end of a chamber, usually encased by styrofoam type material and absolutely is inside the casing- the casing is in no way the primary, though it does fission as a secondary effect.

A shaped charge would indicate that the explosion would come from the outside in, actually it starts from inside, the casing holds it together long enough for it to work, and as a nice bonus it fissions as well.

 

[Screwdriver]

No it really isn't the casing, the primary fission is at the end of a chamber, usually encased by styrofoam type material and absolutely is inside the casing- the casing is in no way the primary, though it does fission as a secondary effect.

A shaped charge would indicate that the explosion would come from the outside in, actually it starts from inside, the casing holds it together long enough for it to work, and as a nice bonus it fissions as well.

Well I don't want to keep disagreeing with your interpretation of how this thing works but once again, you are missing the point of the item you are using to invalidate my "fission bomb wrapped around fusion fuel" description which frankly, was just a throwaway line.

However, even in this "modern version" as you put it, the primary fission bomb is I suggest placed such that it acts like a "shaped charge" and the description of how x-rays are deflected by the outer casing supports that observation. The primary fission "squib" then ignites a secondary fission reaction to the "tamper which" is apparently

...wrapped around a Hydrogen fusion "bomb".

After that all goes off, yes, the outer casing does itself contribute additional fissile material.

So it seems my off the cuff remark about a fission bomb being "wrapped around" a fusion bomb is actually correct no matter how pedantic you want to be about it. Even if the "tamper" is a secondary "charge" (if you like) it is the primary mechanism for getting the fusion reaction to occur and it is very much wrapped around the fusion fuel core.

The thrust of my argument was however that it is a fantastically difficult engineering challenge to keep those energetic reactions balanced so that they can be sustained over a period of time without the whole thing going bang. I merely mention the fact that our earliest foray into fusion "power" was to blast the thing to smithereens inside a nuclear explosion - just in case anyone was thinking we'd managed to "make fusion happen" in the '50's.

 

[Munkul]

it is a fantastically difficult engineering challenge to keep those energetic reactions balanced so that they can be sustained over a period of time without the whole thing going bang

have you been drinking alphabet soup today? You have a firm grasp of the obvious!

TL;DR: fusion power is very complicated

 

[Ross365]

We need to be building regular nuclear power stations asap. I can understand the reluctance for anyone to commit to fission when fusion power is "just around the corner" but without wishing to flog a dead horse, it just isn't.

I keep hearing talk that, all over the world, the suggestion that "Small Modular Reactors" (fission) are coming. Manufactured entirely in factories and then assembled on site. Rolls Royce, with their submarine reactor experience, seem to be the big name in the UK. My view on fission is that we already have a load of radioactive waste from the weapons projects and the past nuclear stations - having a bit more waste is not going to make that problem significantly worse.

 

[mike os]

I’m expecting to see the personal jet planes we were promised in the 70s in widespread use and a colony on Mars before the first working prototype reactor …,

and no I’m not being sarcastic

 

[Blobber]

Im trying to keep up but its all a bit technical, so am i buying candles or not?!

 

[mike os]

Im trying to keep up but its all a bit technical, so am i buying candles or not?!

No they burn hydrocarbons… the luddites will only be happy when we are at a pre Stone Age level of tech

 

[Maker]

No they burn hydrocarbons… the luddites will only be happy when we are at a pre Stone Age level of tech

Beeswax candles should be fine then, provided you capture the combustion products and pump them down into a saline aquifer.

 

[pedrobedro]

I always thought we needed a quantum leap forward in super-conductors to make fusion energy a viable energy source. Maybe even that won't be good enough.

We still need a quantum leap forward in battery technology as well.

I think everyone is expecting science to solve the problem of fossil fuels and environmental impact, but the truth is, we just aren't advancing that fast any more.

Do you know what quantum means ? It usually means add more zeroes to the cost.

 

[pressbrake1]

Everything seems to be political now, left or right even if it’s over parking or eating preferences...
Because everything is political making sensible decisions that should be based on science and fact just don’t happen for fear of appearing non pc .
We’ve got no chance of anyone making a decision in time.

This is not just my theory a scientist said this. First religion holds us back for five hundred years and now politics

 

[Screwdriver]

have you been drinking alphabet soup today? You have a firm grasp of the obvious!

TL;DR: fusion power is very complicated

Very easy to edit out the entirety of a post and point a finger at one small part. The bigger picture to that statement above which you say is "obvious" is my proposition that humanity has played with fusion power and therefore the lay person might expect sustainable fusion to be merely a matter of time (and money). I am suggesting it is more a matter of gravity and that a crucial element of science is still unknown to us. I go on to suggest that it may be the case that such knowledge is effectively hidden from us due to our inability to examine the structure of the physical world from the outside.

Other extraordinary technologies are built upon sound scientific theory which have been known to us for some considerable time. They "merely" require sound engineering practice to implement. Fusion is a different kettle of fish since while it seems so commonplace in the stars all around us, they are using gravity to squish particles close enough together for fusion to take place. We have to use high speed collisions and artificially create a suitable environment for fusion to occur.

To create that environment takes a lot more energy currently than the fusion reaction puts out. That in itself means net positive energy for the system as a whole is at best a questionable pursuit and in the worst case scenario, impossible. Questionable because currently the idea is to "go large" and it may be that the energy returns do not scale linearly and impossible if it turns out what you really need is a ball of hydrogen and helium about the size of the sun.

I'll believe it when I see it and it doesn't help matters when those with a vested interest are being somewhat disingenuous with the current state of play as outlined in that YouTube vid.

 

[Screwdriver]

Im trying to keep up but its all a bit technical, so am i buying candles or not?!

Stick to wood and coal, you'll be fine.

The long and the short of it is "we" are building a new fusion reactor called ITER. It is claimed that this machine has already achieved the holy grail by giving out more energy than it takes to make it run (so you could shove its output up its own input and get "free" energy).

This is a lie.

 

[mike os]

Beeswax candles should be fine then, provided you capture the combustion products and pump them down into a saline aquifer.

And what is the long term effect of acidification on the aquifer?

 

[mike os]

The long and the short of it is "we" are building a new fusion reactor called ITER. It is claimed that this machine has already achieved the holy grail by giving out more energy than it takes to make it run (so you could shove its output up its own input and get "free" energy).

Don't worry the laws of physics and chemistry don't apply to green science...

 

[mtt.tr]

Everything seems to be political now, left or right even if it’s over parking or eating preferences...
Because everything is political making sensible decisions that should be based on science and fact just don’t happen for fear of appearing non pc .
We’ve got no chance of anyone making a decision in time.

This is not just my theory a scientist said this. First religion holds us back for five hundred years and now politics

Couldn't be any more true

 

[Maker]

And what is the long term effect of acidification on the aquifer?

I don't care, as long as the gov will pay for my amine scrubbing column.

 

[mtt.tr]

If only someone was to invent carbon storage that releases oxygen.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I think everyone is expecting science to solve the problem of fossil fuels and environmental impact, but the truth is, we just aren't advancing that fast any more.

Until we can act as a cohesive planet with a unified goal and change the way we live and work nothings really going to change

Especially while the mega corps continue to rape and pollute the planet for financial gain unchecked.