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Comment Re: Why not weapons grade U-235 in civilian reacto (Score 1) 91

They are typical _baseload_ plants, they do not adjust output. They keep it constant.

Good to know. I suppose when your surrounded by the biggest heatsink on the planet, dumping excess energy is solved pretty easily.

Which makes them close to useless for grand scale commercial use.

The take I had was that this would be used for data centers, as opposed to the public grid. 200MW is actually in the ballpark for these.

Comment Re: Why not weapons grade U-235 in civilian reacto (Score 4, Insightful) 91

The assertion about the fuel used in US naval reactors is correct: the navy uses highly enriched uranium for fuel (HUE).

The only other use of HUE in a commercial power reactor anywhere in the world at any time (that we know of: who knows what heinous things the Soviets really did,) was Fort St. Vrain in Colorado in the 80s. That was a weird reactor with an experimental design, and a short operating life.

Such naval reactors are extremely compact, extremely power dense and deliberately primitive, relative to typical commercial fission systems. The fuel lasts for roughly 2 decades in naval service. That is, however, a naval application which is not 100% 24/7/365. I suspect in commercial power operation the fuel will not last as long, but I'm not certain.

I think this is pure bullshit. I suspect this is a clever bunch of grifters pushing a story just plausible enough to possibly shake some money out of the DOE subsidy tree. The following problems are self-evident:
1. Naval reactors are a very different animal than commercial power reactors. The NRC regulatory regime is built around commercial designs and some miraculous regulatory upheaval would be required to accept naval designs into commercial operation.
2. Reactor fuel: there is no regulatory path for supplying HEU to commercial operators. Such a thing would have to be created, despite violent, and not easiliy overcome, opposition: it's bomb fuel. The physics allow for LEU in such reactors, but then all the "reuse" saving become costs to certify and (frequently) fuel such a thing.
3. This scheme has every appearance of what NRC Directory Dale Klein had in mind in 2007 when he coined the "No Bozos" concept: the NRC doesn't tolerate nuclear stuff done on "telsa time" by nuclear newbies.

Comment Re:Why would it? (Score 1) 224

Why should Linux distributions change

Because the only "should" in Linux is responding to the needs and demands of those with the courage to abandon the perfidious shitware they were sold, and forego the agendas and interests of those that purveyed it. That's literally all Linux, and the Unix from which it inherited its spirit, really is: a highly successful reaction by those with the talent to create the alternatives they prefer. And they will continue this process of adapting and conquering, whether you like it or not.

Comment Re:Stop Having Kids (Score 1) 78

That is the only thing that will get the attention of oligarchs and politicians.

Sure, it will get their attention. Then what? Apparently you think: "well then they'll change conditions to make parenting feasible." No, they won't. They'll just do what they've been doing: import 80 IQ third worlders, preferably under a visa regime that makes them compliant.

Comment Related links (Score 1) 78

Among the "Related links" appearing on this stories page: "New Junior Developers Can't Actual Code."

No more fake-it-till-you-make-it eye-tee jerbs.

Also, what will India do? There aren't going to be positions for the hoards of $60k/year visa slaves and their "masters" degrees. There won't even be work for the remote ones: the language models are just as good, if not better, at copypasta "consultant" work as the remote Indians.

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