A New Nuke?

[RWebb]

TR10: Traveling-Wave Reactor - MIT Technology Review

[lane912]

well that is interesting-
less potential for problems

hippies still will hate it, because....
it's newcle-air-

[M.D. Holloway]

Last post says its really nothing more than a Slow Breeder Type...and let me tell you it wasn't easy getting through all those posts and no images of nice T&A!

[RWebb]

ohmg, ok Mike - I'll find you an easier article to read!

hey - did you say you were writing a book?

[RWebb]

ha!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/science/in-search-of-energy-miracles.html?hpw&_r=0&gwh=6B10C3999F02C4BA1EAFAF251CF7D121


pretty good article actually

[widebody911]

Did anyone notice that the article is from 2009?

[red-beard]

Yes, and not really a new idea, except for the "continuous burn" aspect. Mixed oxide fuel and reactors have been around a long time. The issue, more than anything else, is that Uranium and Plutonium work differently in a reactor. The margin of safety with Uranium is higher when increasing power levels.

I never did post grad work so reactor design was not something we got into...But my understanding is that geometry is everything. Different physical configurations lead to different results. Again, those topics are at the masters and doctoral levels.

Unlike other alternative technologies, we know this one works on a large scale and is economical. There is no doubt it can be refined for both efficiency and safety. And with the ability to turn an unusable isotope into massive quantities of a usable isotope, we have an enormous supply of energy, waiting to be used.

I really like the pebble-bed design. It has aspects of a continuous refueling, but it does require reprocessing. Pebble bed also has the advantage of not being able to melt down. It is also able to be gas cooled and operate at much higher temperatures, which could lead to a much more efficient thermal cycle - which is where I have a patent pending...

I'll look a little deeper into this traveling wave design. There wasn't a lot of info on the control and the energy conversion portion of the cycle, which is really my forte.

If we can get back to using Fission energy, then we can use the carbon based molecules for plastics, medicines, fertilizers, etc. And make those electric cars cost effective. Hopefully, we'll have enough time todevelope the "final" fuel: pure matter to energy conversion. Once we can do that, the stars are ours!