[geeks] [rescue] Computerfests (was: first real server

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: nimitz at ns1.nimitzbrood.com
" 
" > " From: Dan Duncan <dand at pcisys.net>
" > " 
" > " 
" > " I like nuclear.  I've always felt the waste should be shoved back
" > " into the same uranium mine it came from in the first place.  The
" > " place is ALREADY radioactive and the stuff you're putting back
" > " has LESS radioactivity than it did when you pulled it out.  What's
" > " the problem?
" > 
" > better would be to -use- that high-level 'waste', instead of dumping
" > it.
" 
" Doesn't that stuff have enough juice left over to be used in the same
" way say the Pioneer 10 and Voyager power supplies were used?

a lot more than that.

current nukes are gen-1 tech by law.  this is like everyone driving
around in scaled-up [or down] curved-dash oldsmobiles.

they burn -1%- of their fuel load.  the other 99% is 'waste'.  this is
like filling your car up, driving -3- miles, then dumping the rest and
refilling.

three decades ago, my dad worked at an erda subcontractor, and he
brought the proceedings from a conference home - three nyc yellowpages
sized volumes.  iirc about half of v2 was nuke designs.

one was a design for nuclear thermolysis - split water using
extremely-high heat [1800c], with sulfuric acid as catalyst.  they
predicted 50-60% efficiency, as best as i recall.  that's comparable
to other thermal power generation.

we've already mentioned the difficulty with piping h2 around [which
was the authors' idea], but suppose you site these nukes up in coal
country?  or tar sands?  use the h2 and waste process heat to liquefy
or gasify that stuff and add it to the existing pipeline network.

another design was the liquid-fueled slow breeder.  this integrated
the fuel reprocessing plant into the reactor, so that nothing but lead
left.  okay, it'd be hot by association - but not -real- hot.  it
would need uranium to start but could even run on thorium by breeding
it to u233, and th is 10-1000 times [nobody's looked real close] more
plentiful.

the best part - near-100% fuel consumption.  they estimated we could
power our entire grid for the next five centuries with the uranium
we've already mined.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought