Nuclear energy on its way out.:)

Sylvia Else wrote:
Richard Stephens wrote:

I wonder what these recent accidents will do to fusion research. Will
the average person think that all nuclear power is the same?

The average person avoids irradiated foods because they are radioactive.
Of course whatever illogical nonsense folks come up with will be what
the average person thinks.

Well, they probably would, but I doubt that matters much as far as
research is concerned. If and when fusion plants were actually being
built around the world, there would have to be some education programs
designed to explain why a fusion plant cannot possibly suffer the kinds
of problem encountered with fission plants.

And don't mention that a lot of the energy is in the form of neutrons
that convert the interior of the reactor to radioactive isotopes. The
solved-but-prevented-by-politics problem of radioactive waste will not
change when we go to fusion.

It's been suggested that the earliest important use of fusion as with a
fusion torch to process nuclear waste from fission - All the way from
the early research through spent fuel rods. One product of such a plant
would be mixed oxides of various transuranics. We still need to build
fission plants with a technology like the Candu heavy water slow
breeders to burn up all that MOX.

On 13/07/2011 12:40 AM, Doug Freyburger wrote:

And don't mention that a lot of the energy is in the form of neutrons
that convert the interior of the reactor to radioactive isotopes. The
solved-but-prevented-by-politics problem of radioactive waste will not
change when we go to fusion.

I doubt most people feel that strongly about nuclear waste, as long as
it's not dumped nearby. What they care about are events like Chernobyl,
and now Fukushima. They would need to be assured that even if a fusion
plant is complete wrecked, it still cannot present those kinds of hazard.

Sylvia.