Comments on The Ergosphere: It's (a) mine!

One of the things I don't like about nuclear power...

2005-05-17T00:35:27.856-04:00

One of the things I don't like about nuclear power is that it is NOT a global solution to the global energy challenge.

The world's superpowers are going to have to accept that if nuclear power is good enough for them, then every other country is going to want it to.

So either they are going to have to sort out the issues with proliferation or find other alternatives.

I think that the issue of reprocessing pebbles is ...

2005-04-29T16:32:00.183-04:00

I think that the issue of reprocessing pebbles is overblown; the outer material could be removed any number of different ways, e.g. by electrical-discharge machining or sandblasting. Real-time fluoroscopy could show where the light outer layers end and the fissionable core begins, allowing the spent fuel element to be carved down with great accuracy. Once you're down to the

I should say, "this is why California has earthqua...

2005-04-29T15:50:30.226-04:00

I should say, "this is why California has earthquake standards in its building codes". The rest of the country (well, those parts without Pacific Coast beachfront property) doesn't, but that's because the perception is that they don't have earthquakes to contend with. The New Madrid earthquake of 1811 and 1812 should have

For the long haul, I don't like pebble bed. It pre...

2005-04-29T15:46:43.180-04:00

For the long haul, I don't like pebble bed. It prevents the creation of breeder reactors, which will be necessary to extend the usable life of uranium fuel. I wonder that we won't be digging up "waste" fuel rods for the purpose of extracting plutonium in a few years.

One thing I've never hear conclusively one way or another is whether plutonium isotopes from breeders are suitable for

I wouldn't recommend leaving the spent fuel at the...

2005-04-28T21:35:48.020-04:00

I wouldn't recommend leaving the spent fuel at the reactor, just the reactor itself; you wouldn't have to do much of anything for decommissioning.

To the extent that a thousand feet of rock is a barrier to unwanted things getting out or in, this might eliminate most of the political resistance to nuclear power. And the promise of heat, A/C and hot water that can't be shipped off to

Interesting post. I have trouble with the nuclear...

2005-04-28T21:11:14.336-04:00

Interesting post. I have trouble with the nuclear issue too - talking about the old infrastructure is easy, (it sucks rocks), but the capital costs are mostly paid of in the U.S. so the generating electricity is cost effective for our current fleet - for the time being.

I am very interested in the end to end energy costs of nuclear plants, and researching it is slow going, for some of