Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Pu-238 is in short supply BECAUSE... (Score 1) 122

by gordm (#42146265) Attached to: New Small Fission Reactor For Deep-space Missions Demonstrated
...the Pu-238 contained within USA's existing U-233 stockpile is being destroyed along with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p49Sq7mbpE

Also, the U-233 could serve as a "nuclear catalyst" in Molten Salt Reactors fed Thorium as fuel. Such reactors could produce Pu-238 in an easily partition-able form since they would be in a liquid state, and there would be no unwanted isotopes to contaminate the plutonium. (Isotopes being harder to separate than other elements.)

If you live in the USA please consider dropping your email in here... http://thoriumpetition.com/

...and you'll be notified when the next petition is launched. Last petition hit ~2500 sigs so there's a ways to go, but by building up the email list should ultimately get there.
NASA

Submission + - DoE spending $500M to destroy U-233 stockpile needed by NASA (youtube.com) 3

Submitted by
gordm
gordm writes: "The Department of Energy is in the process of destroying America's supply of Uranium 233, an extremely rare isotope of Uranium not found in nature. This U-233 cost American taxpayers $4.5 Billion (today's dollars) to create. And now, $500 Million dollars are being spent to downblend & vitrify it.

Pu-238 can be created from this U-233. The natural decay of Pu-238 releases energy, which is needed by NASA for any space probe traveling beyond the asteroid belt.

Other radioactive isotopes are needed for medical diagnosis, some for finding fossil fuels and some even offer the promise of exciting new cancer treatment.

Today, these isotopes are created in special research reactors. Many of these (old) reactors are about to be shut down.

U-233 can be used to create these isotopes while simultaneously generating energy. It can be done using a reactor both safer, cheaper, and capable of producing far less tranuranic nuclear waste than today's reactors. (In fact, it can even consume some of our spent fuel rods as fuel.)

This machine is the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), sometimes referred to (by a specific sub-category of design) as the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR).

The MSR can outperform today's reactors because there are no fuel rods, the U-233 and Thorium are dissolved in liquid salts. Homogenous liquid fuel can be consumed far more efficiently than today's heterogeneous fuel rods. In fact, such a departure from today's reactor design is necessary to achieve truly efficient nuclear power.

The one critical advantage America has over any other nation developing MSR is its Uranium-233 stockpile. No one else on the planet has such a resource. You do not absolutely need U-233 to run a Molten Salt Reactor, but it is the cleanest way to do so. (Fewer undesirable transuranics are produced.)

Private industry is actively developing MSR (as are other nations), but DoE destruction of U-233 puts the viability of this reactor design at risk."

Comment Re:Lots of work? (Score 3, Informative) 66

by gordm (#41513263) Attached to: RockBox + Refurbished MP3 Players = Crowdsourced Audio Capture
Have used PluralEyes but find not much harder to sync manually. Make 3 loud clapping sounds once recorders are all running, manually sync to that in timeline. The vast majority of the audio can't be put in sync manually because the audio is so different for each perspective (for 5 hours) compared to the 3 seconds where identical clapping can be heard. Ideally the devices are all activated & running (then you clap 3x) before the event starts, and deployed as needed. As opposed to starting them as they are deployed to collars.
China

Submission + - Heavy Rare Earths - In relation to Thorium, in rel (youtube.com)

Submitted by
gordm
gordm writes: "News of Apple manufacturing A5 chips in Texas begs question: Which hi-tech goods can be economically manufactured in North America, and which ones can not? Why A5, and not iOS devices?

It may be due to China's near-monopoly on Heavy Rare Earths, used in the manufacture of iPads, iPhones... solar panels, wind turbines, hybrid car batteries and weapons guidance systems. China has been very effective at leveraging their supply of Heavy Rare Earths into manufacturing jobs.

No doubt wages and environmental regulation are important factors. But are HRE being overlooked when manufacturing jobs are being discussed? (Would love to hear from someone involved in manufacturing similar products on how critical this is!)"

Comment Re:right idea - Wrong fuel (Score 1) 230

by gordm (#38419354) Attached to: In Nuclear Power, Size Matters

denis-The-menace (or anyone),

Sorry for this crazy-stupid question, but how does one up-vote in slashdot? I'm logged in, but I only see filtering mechanisms, I can't find any voting mechanisms.

I've been on Slashdot for YEARS, and I guess I better finally come clean on this. I have no idea how to upvote, even though every year or so I'll take another stab at it.

Comment flaws? (Score 1) 2

by gordm (#36268910) Attached to: Kirk Sorensen Discusses Safer Nuclear Fission
I'm also keen on hearing flaws... so far just broad rebuttals against nuclear, not MSR / LFTR specific. I tried emailing Honourable Ronald Liepert, Alberta's Minister of Energy. His office responded that... "I have forwarded your email to the Department of Energy and they are familiar with this technology."
Power

Submission + - Kirk Sorensen Discusses Safer Nuclear Fission (youtube.com) 2

Submitted by progliberty
progliberty writes: While using thorium as a fuel was discussed in a previous slashdot article., Kirk Sorensen has given a talk at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada explaining the inner workings and merits of the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR), a type of Molten Salt Reactor (MSR). What can we do to make implementation possible, and what, if any, flaws exist in the technology?

Submission + - TEDxYYC - Can Thorium End Our Energy Crisis? (youtube.com)

Submitted by
gordm
gordm writes: "Many Slashdot readers are probably familiar with the concept of LFTR: Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (a type of molten salt reactor). Recently, a new TEDx Talk went live featuring a very accessible 10 minute introduction to LFTR.

Enthusiasts (including myself) are hoping this video will help bring the subject to a much wider audience. As opposed to the ADHD mindset (and forgiveness of low video resolution) required by LFTR in 16 Minutes."

Submission + - How a Pal Adder Bot Tool Can Develop Your Social N (howapaladderbottoolcandevelopyoursocialnetworklikeroaches)

Submitted by isaacvalenzu38
isaacvalenzu38 writes: The important to accomplishment on Facebook is the size of your network and there are only so quite a few folks you can link to — if you do it on your private. Right here, is where by friend facebook friend adder promoting equipment can assistance you. They automate the practice of reaching out to people today and instead of reaching out to hundreds, you can achieve out to countless numbers.

Right here are some advantages of a Companion Adder Promotion Device:

1. Add Mates: A buddy adder advertising and marketing instrument expands your attain, substantially. It will immediately goal users that you'd like to achieve out to and enable you make good friends with them.

2. Mail Messages: With a pal adder promotion tool, you can deliver messages to 1000's of close friends, all at a single go. This will help save you significant time, and aid you deliver facts about new merchandise, seminars, freebies and other stuff to all your close friends repeatedly and in actual time.

three. Mass Pokes: Who doesn't get pleasure from a great poke? Any time I receive a poke, I get a warm feeling in my belly. Sadly, I have certainly not been capable to poke a ton of my buddies, as I'd like, mainly because of time constraints. With the close friend adder marketing tool — you get the ability to mail numerous pokes all at the moment.

four. Mass Wall Posts: You get the capability to mail mass wall posts and spread your word close to in hundreds of hundreds of walls by using a buddy adder device.

five. Invite Pals To Activities: These automation tools support you invite a range of people to activities that you organize and increase your likelihood of achievements.

As you can see, automation can do wonders for you as it raises your potential to connect with people on Facebook several folds. 1 of the ideal methods to automate your Facebook advertising and marketing campaign is by making use of a Good friend Adder Promotion Tool and these a device can support you leverage the benefits of social networking and automation tremendously.

If your considerable about carrying out promotions on Facebook, you genuinely require to be harnessing the electrical power of software package deals out there. With the proper use of buddy including computer software you can automate duties this sort of as incorporating prospects who match the demographic and area you are targeting with the click of a button. From there you will make a handful of small adjustments to make sure the software package keeps your accounts out of fire from Facebook assist employees.

In order for you to star beneath the radar you seriously only want to be undertaking a optimum of 300 close friend requests a day and randomize how the requests are performed. This is completed with ease the moment again using application that is at this time out on the market. If you go through the title of this document you would have recognize I made a bold declare of acquiring 200,000 close friends in 17 days or much less.

A ton if not most folks would say I'm nuts!, I guarantee you this is not the instance as you can do the exact with some very simple planning.

- Details to look at

Submission + - Thorium Remix 2009 - LFTR in 25 Minutes (youtube.com)

Submitted by
gordm
gordm writes: "I couldn't find a single video which covered liquid-fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) at a decent pace, so I remixed 3 Google Tech Talks on the subject into a single fast paced intro to the technology."
Microsoft

Submission + - Paul Allen Diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: A month ago, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen rhetorically asked a sportswriter: 'Your health...is the most important thing in the world, isn't it?' Sadly, TechFlash now reports that Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He received the diagnosis — diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — early this month and has begun chemotherapy. In 1983, Allen left Microsoft to successfully battle Hodgkin's disease, which is also a type of lymphoma.
Security

Submission + - The Psychology of Scam Victims (lightbluetouchpaper.org)

Submitted by harryjohnston
harryjohnston writes: Frank Stajano, ARM lecturer in Ubiquitous Computing Systems at the University of Cambridge, and Paul Wilson, writer/presenter for the popular BBC Three series "The Real Hustle", have written a fascinating technical report (PDF) on the psychology of scam victims, based on the television series but with particular emphasis on how real-world scams (and the psychology behind them) translate into electronic scams, and on what security engineers need to know in order to mitigate the risks.
Space

Submission + - New Zealand to Launch First Private Space Rocket (spacefellowship.com)

Submitted by RobGoldsmith
RobGoldsmith writes: Private New Zealand aerospace company Rocket Lab completed its final ground-based test today and is now ready to launch New Zealand into the space race with its Atea-1 launch vehicle. The first high altitude launch of Atea-1 is scheduled for the end of November this year. Once Atea-1 has successfully concluded the development phase it will be the first privately built rocket launched from the Southern Hemisphere to enter space. Read this article to see a new CGI movie and get more information on the launch!

Comment Green Party's Elizabeth May on The Pirate Party (Score 3, Insightful) 394

by gordm (#28588797) Attached to: Pirate Party Coming To Canada

Between CBC's coverage of Canadian Pirate Party and this slashdot post, I had a chance to ask Elizabeth May about the idea of a Canadian Pirate Party.

http://r4nt.com/article/green-party-vs-pirate-party/

She says Green Party policy is copyrights should expire in 12 years (as opposed to Canada's effective 100 year copyright durations).

I know the Green Party doesn't push this aspect of their platform very hard, but it would be nice to have an elected MP speaking on economically optimal copyright durations, as opposed to what is "right" or "wrong" with downloading MP3s (yawn).

YouTube video of Elizabeth May on The Pirate Party and Copyright. Also recycleable (and CC licensed) at Internet Archive.

If The Pirate Party runs against Greens, then copyleft voters will have their vote split. Given Canada's first-past-the-post system, that guarantees we'll never have an elected MP pushing for shorter copyright duration.

Slashdot Top Deals

HELP!!!! I'm being held prisoner in /usr/games/lib!

Close