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Comment Re:Thorium reactors? (Score 1) 226

The U232 makes it deadly to handle therefore extremely difficult and unlikely to use for machining into something usable as a weapon. I'd never say someone couldn't but there are likely easier ways of getting U. Anyway, If you have a LFTR reactor, you already have a bunch of U in the core. The U232 is bred in the blanket later of a LFTR reactor, filtered out through fluorination and pumped back into the core for fuel.

A Th reactor can cook above delayed critical (obviously, otherwise how does it power up?

A LFTR starts with a core of U (I believe it is U235) in the Berylium Fluoride - That is what powers it. The Thorium (in the blanket layer) is only there to breed more U (U232), slow neutrons, carry away heat. LFTR's are still reactors powered by U, the cool thing is 1. breeding more U, 2. operates at atmospheric pressures, 3. uses Berylium Fluoride for cooling & heat transfer and therefore does not need water, 4. They don't need massive containment vessels for steam so they are also much smaller. No water means no pressure build up (steam) and no hydrogen being split from H2O (big boom & fire).

Somewhere in the decay chain, Pu can/is created but in very minute quantities, not enough for weaponization and I believe it gets consumed as well in the long run. I haven't read up on LFTR for a while so I forget where the Pu goes. I read/saw somewhere the amount that was generated and my feeble memory wants to believe it was a few milligrams per year in an ocean of molten Beryllium Fluoride.

Censorship

Chinese Root Server Shut Down After DNS Problem 91

itwbennett writes "After a networking error first reported on Wednesday last week caused computers in Chile and the US to come under the control of a system that censors the Internet in China, the 'root DNS server associated with the networking problems has been disconnected from the Internet,' writes Robert McMillan. The server's operator, Netnod, has 'withdrawn route announcements' made by the server, according to company CEO Kurt Lindqvist."

Comment Re:Isn't it kind of sad (Score 1) 199

If all you have to do is increasing profits, it is then perfectly OK to release dangerous products, abuse your employees as much as possible under applicable legislation (and then maybe a bit more), harm the environment with your production methods, or risk people's life savings in absurd investment schemas, among many other horrors of modern life.

Doing so is NOT in the best interest of the shareholders because it brings lawsuits and negative attention to the company which reduces sales and therefore dividends to the shareholders.

Idiots in management may believe such behaviour is good to achieve their quarterly targets but it screws the company longterm.

Comment As a side note... (Score 3, Informative) 322

On a recent Air Canada flight the flight attendant actually came on the PA to tell everyone that the in-flight entertainment system was being turned on for our use. She then proceeded to tell us to be sure we didn't push 4 of the buttons on the main screen or else the screen at your seat would crash and they would be unable to fix it in flight. I thought it strange that a computer entertainment system installed in an aircraft would be a "work in progress" instead of just installing a full-functional system. Among the buttons we were not to touch? Weather and Flight tracking...of course.

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