Comment Elon Musk tweets support for Keeping Diablo open (Score 1) 177
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/s...
"Agreed" -@elonmusk
Elon Musk has been voicing support for nuclear power for years.
This is his first direct support for Diablo Canyon itself.
Comment Re:Nuclear's carbon lifecycle is 6g (3.2g in Canad (Score 1) 177
There are geographic AND mineral constrains on wind turbines. There are mineral constraints on grid battery storage.
Comment Nuclear's carbon lifecycle is 6g (3.2g in Canada) (Score 5, Informative) 177
Carbon Footprints carbon lifecycle 2021 study by UNECE LCA
https://unece.org/sites/defaul...
The UNECE 2020 is represented here on Wikipedia with a nice table (2nd table down):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
It shows nuclear as THE LOWEST CARBON source of electricity
I see some comments here about some particular part of the nuclear lifecycle that the poster assumes UNECE overlooked? No, that's typical anti-nuclear FUD.
LIFECYCLE means LIFECYCLE. Nuclear IS LOW CAROBN. According to UNECE, it is THE LOWEST.
Submission + - Keep Diablo Canyon open, 75 scientists, academics and entrepreneurs tell Newsom (sanluisobispo.com) 1
gordm writes: Dr. Steven Chu, former U.S. Secretary of Energy under the Obama administration and a Nobel laureate, and more than 75 scientists, academics and entrepreneurs sent a letter to Newsom urging him to find a way to keep the plant open because of the necessary carbon-free, clean electricity it provides to the state’s electricity grid. Diablo Canyon currently provides about 18,000 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, comprising of about 10% of the state’s electricity portfolio.
https://drive.google.com/file/...
“But even if California could replace Diablo Canyon with renewable energy in the near term, that is not the right goal. Mere replacement is not enough; replacement would merely freeze emissions at their currently dangerous level,” the letter reads. “The right goal is to reduce carbon emissions as fast as possible, and the right means to do that is to add renewables on top of Diablo Canyon’s carbon-free energy, not in place of that energy.”
https://drive.google.com/file/...
“But even if California could replace Diablo Canyon with renewable energy in the near term, that is not the right goal. Mere replacement is not enough; replacement would merely freeze emissions at their currently dangerous level,” the letter reads. “The right goal is to reduce carbon emissions as fast as possible, and the right means to do that is to add renewables on top of Diablo Canyon’s carbon-free energy, not in place of that energy.”
Comment Dump? (Score 1) 335
Repository. The article doesn't say dump.
Is the used fuel to be stored in a big mound all willy-nilly? No.
It is about 95% natural uranium, fuel for fast-spectrum reactors.
The Plutonium is reactor grade, not suitable for weapons. That's fuel for conventional reactors OR fast-spectrum reactors.
The only portion that can't be fissioned is the "Fission Products" (what Uranium breaks up into). Probably some very interesting uses for those, but we've never had the chance to put them to use (except at dawn of nuclear age when Rare Earth fission products enabled Shockley breakthroughs thanks to their purity) because they've been trapped in solid fuel rods next to the not-weapons-grade only-reactor-grade Plutonium.
Submission + - How does Green Party of Canada (GPC) maintain an anti-nuclear stance?
gordm writes: Canadian nuclear is 3.2g CO2eq/kWh. Lower than solar or wind. How does Green leadership use anti-nuclear advisors to avoid serious consideration of fission?
40 Minute video: "Dr. Gordon Edwards informs GPC about SMR & Nuclear Power"
https://youtu.be/HKIcnbMMdO0
40 Minute video: "Dr. Gordon Edwards informs GPC about SMR & Nuclear Power"
https://youtu.be/HKIcnbMMdO0
Comment Re: About damn time (Score 1) 385
I also belong to the Green Party. And support nuclear power. Iâ(TM)d not use the term âoegreeniesâ is all.
Submission + - Molten-Salt (tritium breeding blanket) for Fusion Reactors: Nuclear Tech Overlap (youtube.com)
gordm writes: Dr. Charles Forsberg observes technological overlap between Molten-Salt Reactor (fission) development and Fusion Reactors due to manufacturing breakthrough of Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) Superconducting Magnets onto steel tape.
REBCO superconducting tape enables doubling magnetic fields.
Size of magnetic fusion system for any given power output varies as one over the fourth power of the magnetic field. Higher magnetic fields can shrink fusion system size by an order of magnitude, power density in the fusion blanket increases by an order of magnitude.
Higher power densities in the blanket make it difficult to cool solid blankets. High magnetic fields create large incentives to have a coolant with low electrical conductivity to avoid coolant/magnetic field interactions.
REBCO Fusion Favors a Molten-Salt (particularly FLiBe Salt) Blanket.
Why Flibe (Li2BeF4) Salt?
Maximize tritium production (90% Li-6) to produce sufficient tritium for self-sustaining fusion machine. Beryllium (n, 2n) reaction generates more neutrons. Lithium plus neutron yields tritium. Excellent heat transfer relative to other salts.
Flibe (Li2BeF4) Salt Fusion Blankets Applicable to all Fusion Technologies. ARC is the First Design with REBCO Superconducting Magnets; Other Fusion Systems Likely to Follow with Incentives for Flibe Blankets.
Synergisms Between Flibe-Salt-Cooled Fission and Fusion Reactors:
- Basic science of salts
- Design tools
- Technology (materials, tritium control, salt purification, power cycles)
- Supply chains (equipment, FLiBe salt, lithium isotopic separation)
Synergisms Will Accelerate Development of All Salt Systems.
Dr. Charles Forsberg presentation given at Oak Ridge Molten Salt Reactor Workshop 2019 [ ORNL MSRW 2019 ]: https://msrworkshop.ornl.gov/
THE PAPER: https://doi.org/10.1080/002954...
Fusion Blankets and Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors with Flibe Salt Coolant: Common Challenges, Tritium Control, and Opportunities for Synergistic Development Strategies Between Fission, Fusion, and Solar Salt Technologies. Charles Forsberg, Guiqiu (Tony) Zheng, Ronald G. Ballinger & Stephen T. Lam
Abstract — Recent developments in high-magnetic-field fusion systems have created large incentives to develop flibe (Li2BeF4) salt fusion blankets that have four functions: (1) convert the high energy of fusion neutrons into heat for the power system, (2) convert lithium into tritium—the fusion fuel, (3) shield the magnets against radiation, and (4) cool the first wall that separates the plasma from the salt blanket. Flibe is the same coolant proposed for fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors that use clean flibe coolant and graphite-matrix coated-particle fuel. Flibe is also the coolant proposed for some molten salt reactors (MSRs) where the fuel is dissolved in the coolant. The multiple applications for flibe as a coolant create large incentives for cooperative fusion-fission programs for development of the underlying science, design tools, technology (pumps, instrumentation, salt purification, materials, tritium removal, etc.), and supply chains. Other high-temperature molten salts are being developed for alternative MSR systems and for advanced Gen-III concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. The overlapping characteristics of flibe salt with these other salt systems create significant incentives for cooperative fusion-fission-solar programs in multiple areas. We describe the fission and fusion flibe-cooled systems, what has created this synergism, what is different and the same between fission and fusion in terms of using flibe, and the common challenges. We review (1) the characteristics of flibe salts, (2) the status of the technology, (3) the options for tritium capture and control in the salt, heat exchangers, and secondary heat transfer loops, and (4) the coupling to power cycles with heat storage. The technology overlap between flibe systems and other high-temperature MSR and CSP salt systems is described. This defines where there are opportunities for cooperative programs across fission, fusion, and CSP salt programs.
Note from the poster:
I was first interested in Molten-Salt Reactors because it is possible to build a 2-fluid design for breeding Thorium into U-233, and fueling a nuclear reactor with Thorium. The breeder blanket is FLiBe salt containing Thorium.
This talk showed how the same FLiBe salt acts nearly identically as a "breeder blanket" where it...
- Protects vessel walls from neutron radiation by absorbing neutrons.
- Breeds new fuel (U-233 or Tritium) to sustain fission or fusion.
- Transfers heat, leveraging the wide liquid temperature range of FLiBe.
REBCO superconducting tape enables doubling magnetic fields.
Size of magnetic fusion system for any given power output varies as one over the fourth power of the magnetic field. Higher magnetic fields can shrink fusion system size by an order of magnitude, power density in the fusion blanket increases by an order of magnitude.
Higher power densities in the blanket make it difficult to cool solid blankets. High magnetic fields create large incentives to have a coolant with low electrical conductivity to avoid coolant/magnetic field interactions.
REBCO Fusion Favors a Molten-Salt (particularly FLiBe Salt) Blanket.
Why Flibe (Li2BeF4) Salt?
Maximize tritium production (90% Li-6) to produce sufficient tritium for self-sustaining fusion machine. Beryllium (n, 2n) reaction generates more neutrons. Lithium plus neutron yields tritium. Excellent heat transfer relative to other salts.
Flibe (Li2BeF4) Salt Fusion Blankets Applicable to all Fusion Technologies. ARC is the First Design with REBCO Superconducting Magnets; Other Fusion Systems Likely to Follow with Incentives for Flibe Blankets.
Synergisms Between Flibe-Salt-Cooled Fission and Fusion Reactors:
- Basic science of salts
- Design tools
- Technology (materials, tritium control, salt purification, power cycles)
- Supply chains (equipment, FLiBe salt, lithium isotopic separation)
Synergisms Will Accelerate Development of All Salt Systems.
Dr. Charles Forsberg presentation given at Oak Ridge Molten Salt Reactor Workshop 2019 [ ORNL MSRW 2019 ]: https://msrworkshop.ornl.gov/
THE PAPER: https://doi.org/10.1080/002954...
Fusion Blankets and Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors with Flibe Salt Coolant: Common Challenges, Tritium Control, and Opportunities for Synergistic Development Strategies Between Fission, Fusion, and Solar Salt Technologies. Charles Forsberg, Guiqiu (Tony) Zheng, Ronald G. Ballinger & Stephen T. Lam
Abstract — Recent developments in high-magnetic-field fusion systems have created large incentives to develop flibe (Li2BeF4) salt fusion blankets that have four functions: (1) convert the high energy of fusion neutrons into heat for the power system, (2) convert lithium into tritium—the fusion fuel, (3) shield the magnets against radiation, and (4) cool the first wall that separates the plasma from the salt blanket. Flibe is the same coolant proposed for fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors that use clean flibe coolant and graphite-matrix coated-particle fuel. Flibe is also the coolant proposed for some molten salt reactors (MSRs) where the fuel is dissolved in the coolant. The multiple applications for flibe as a coolant create large incentives for cooperative fusion-fission programs for development of the underlying science, design tools, technology (pumps, instrumentation, salt purification, materials, tritium removal, etc.), and supply chains. Other high-temperature molten salts are being developed for alternative MSR systems and for advanced Gen-III concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. The overlapping characteristics of flibe salt with these other salt systems create significant incentives for cooperative fusion-fission-solar programs in multiple areas. We describe the fission and fusion flibe-cooled systems, what has created this synergism, what is different and the same between fission and fusion in terms of using flibe, and the common challenges. We review (1) the characteristics of flibe salts, (2) the status of the technology, (3) the options for tritium capture and control in the salt, heat exchangers, and secondary heat transfer loops, and (4) the coupling to power cycles with heat storage. The technology overlap between flibe systems and other high-temperature MSR and CSP salt systems is described. This defines where there are opportunities for cooperative programs across fission, fusion, and CSP salt programs.
Note from the poster:
I was first interested in Molten-Salt Reactors because it is possible to build a 2-fluid design for breeding Thorium into U-233, and fueling a nuclear reactor with Thorium. The breeder blanket is FLiBe salt containing Thorium.
This talk showed how the same FLiBe salt acts nearly identically as a "breeder blanket" where it...
- Protects vessel walls from neutron radiation by absorbing neutrons.
- Breeds new fuel (U-233 or Tritium) to sustain fission or fusion.
- Transfers heat, leveraging the wide liquid temperature range of FLiBe.
Comment Re:Start with Venus... (Score 1) 319
I don't expect Venus is an easy subject but that's exactly where my mind wanders. Why CAN'T we terraform Venus in the way that Red/Blue/Green saw happening to Mars (from a drastically different starting point)?
Submission + - Australian Pro-Nuclear Straw Man (decarbonisesa.com)
gordm writes: Giles Parkinson (editor of RenewEconomy) has a curious recollection of the pro-nuclear talk delivered by Ben Heard at Brisbane City Hall (for Brisbane Global Café).
http://reneweconomy.com.au/201...
"Nuclear cheerleader Ben Heard blamed everyone from lefties to greenies for the current state of the nuclear industry."
Just as my own province of Alberta emits almost 900g CO2/kWh, so does Australia. I'd love to see these numbers come down. Ben was pointing out Ontario as an example of a once coal-dependent province which has stopped burning coal: http://live.gridwatch.ca/home-...
What Ben did NOT do, was pass blame for the current state of the nuclear industry... in fact nuclear power is illegal in Australia.
http://youtu.be/IzbI0UPwQHg
Giles Parkinson's assertions can be found here: http://reneweconomy.com.au/201...
I think anyone considering the challenge of ditching coal will find Ben's talk as interesting as the "rebuttal" it triggered.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/201...
"Nuclear cheerleader Ben Heard blamed everyone from lefties to greenies for the current state of the nuclear industry."
Just as my own province of Alberta emits almost 900g CO2/kWh, so does Australia. I'd love to see these numbers come down. Ben was pointing out Ontario as an example of a once coal-dependent province which has stopped burning coal: http://live.gridwatch.ca/home-...
What Ben did NOT do, was pass blame for the current state of the nuclear industry... in fact nuclear power is illegal in Australia.
http://youtu.be/IzbI0UPwQHg
Giles Parkinson's assertions can be found here: http://reneweconomy.com.au/201...
I think anyone considering the challenge of ditching coal will find Ben's talk as interesting as the "rebuttal" it triggered.
Submission + - Bill Gates vs Dr. Helen Caldicott on Nuclear (youtube.com)
gordm writes: Bill Gates looks to nuclear energy as a means of addressing poverty and climate change. Helen Caldicott... does not. This (pro-nuclear) video contrasts their views, including Helen's Caldicott's shifting opinion on Bill Gates once he backed nuclear energy.
It was created using YouTube's REMIX THIS VIDEO and online video editor. It was pulled from a 2 hour video reviewing a fraction of Dr. Helen Caldicott's false statements. (Because they couldn't all fit in a 2 hour video.)
It was created using YouTube's REMIX THIS VIDEO and online video editor. It was pulled from a 2 hour video reviewing a fraction of Dr. Helen Caldicott's false statements. (Because they couldn't all fit in a 2 hour video.)
Comment But we've emitted more carbon! (Score 2) 322
I don't understand Krugman (who I respect) saying...
"United States accounts for only 17 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, while China accounts for 27 percent — and China’s share is rising fast." ...when per-capita we're emitting far more than them. Not even counting historical carbon, emitted so that we could build roads and infrastructure then even total carbon emissions still dwarf China.
If we're not AT LEAST recognizing that we emit WAY more GHG more per-capita TODAY, then this is... this is terrible coming from Krugman.
http://data.worldbank.org/indi...
Comment Pu-238 is in short supply BECAUSE... (Score 1) 122
...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.
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/
Submission + - DoE spending $500M to destroy U-233 stockpile needed by NASA (youtube.com) 3
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."
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
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.
