An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: To transition the United States from fossil fuels to green energy, [Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang] wants the government to invest $50 billion in the development of thorium molten-salt nuclear reactors — and he wants them on the grid by 2027. “Nuclear isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s a solid solution for now,”…
Tag: Nuclear Reactor
NASA Wants To Send Nuclear Rockets To the Moon and Mars
NASA engineers want to create a rocket engine powered by nuclear fusion. “A nuclear rocket engine would be twice as efficient as the chemical engines powering rockets today,” reports Wired. “But despite their conceptual simplicity, small-scale fission reactors are challenging to build and risky to operate because they produce toxic waste. Space travel is dangerous enough without having to worry about…
Does America’s First Commercial Offshore Wind Farm Portend a Clean Energy Revolution?
In the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Slashdot reader Dan Drollette describes visiting one of North America’s biggest experiments in renewable energy, off the coast of Rhode Island. As the only commercial offshore wind farm in North America, Block Island is “setting the stage for what could be a rapid explosion in the number of commercial offshore windmills on the entire…
Russia Orders Evacuation of Village Near Site of Nuclear Accident, Then Cancels It
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The Russian authorities on Tuesday announced the evacuation of the village nearest to the site of a nuclear accident in northern Russia, suggesting dangers more grave than initially reported. The still-mysterious episode last week killed seven people and released radiation, apparently when a small nuclear reactor malfunctioned during a test…
Nuclear Reactor For Mars Outpost Could Be Ready To Fly By 2022
A nuclear power system that could one day provide juice to colonies on Mars is closer to being ready than previously expected. According to project team members, the Kilopower experiment fission reactor could be ready for its first in-space trial by 2022. Space.com reports: A flight test is the next big step for the Kilopower experimental fission reactor, which aced a…
Chernobyl and Why Some TV Shows Should Be Unbingeable
An anonymous reader shares a column [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled]: Few television shows in recent years have been as compelling, yet as difficult to watch, as Chernobyl. The story of the hours and days following the 1986 nuclear reactor meltdown, and the many awful ways that radiation can kill, was expertly told. But it was the antithesis of…
Should the UK Re-Open An Old, Cracked Nuclear Reactor?
“Nuclear experts have warned against re-opening a 43-year-old Scottish nuclear reactor riddled with cracks over fears of a meltdown,” writes the Daily Mirror. An anonymous reader quotes their report: Hunterston B nuclear power plant was shut down last year after it was found that Reactor 3 had almost 400 cracks in it — exceeding the operational limit. EDF, which own the…