• Nuclear Technology Development and Discussion
    61 replies, posted
[QUOTE=AcidGravy;45419836]What I want to know is when cold fusion will become possible/feasible on a mass scale. Also, do thorium reactors hold as much promise as everyone is making out? And if so could it replace uranium reactors in the near future? [video=youtube;uK367T7h6ZY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK367T7h6ZY[/video][/QUOTE] "Cold Fusion" implies that you can lower the temperature required to incur nuclear fusion. It does not exist. The most common Fusion reactor is the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak]Tokamak[/url] reactor which uses magnets to heat plasma in a loop. It is in a donut shape. The other type of reactor you may have heard of is the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_confinement_fusion]Inertial confinement reactor[/url] which uses lasers to condense matter to initiate fusion. This design is unlikely to be used for energy purposes since it takes about ~10hours to set up a target for a reaction. Thorium is a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_IV_reactor]Gen IV[/url] reactor, more specifically a liquid metal reactor. Honestly a fleet of any Gen II or greater reactors has the potential to lead to immense energy, though the Gen IV reactors solve many safety and efficiency issues from the previous generations. [url=http://www.nrc.gov/]Don't expect to see them in America soon though,[/url] since it is required to build a fully functional reactor and test it before an actual power plant that uses that reactor must be built. So that's nearly twice the cost and time for one next-gen plant to arise. On a side note, Breeder reactors burn the radioactive waste from the last generations so that they don't last millions of years, only around 500. I suggest watching Pandora's Promise if you are interested in Breeder reactors.
Thank god for this thread, I am absolutely enthralled about this. I've met with William Kolb, the man who wrote [I]Living With Radiation[/I] and I sold him some radioactive minerals. :v: If any of you have any questions about radioactive minerals and whatnot, just ask me. I'd be happy to oblige with sample pictures from my collection. For more songs, CivilDefenseSpot on youtube has A LOT of songs pertaining to nuclear stuff from the 40's to the 60s. Also, I owe my life to nuclear medicine. After having massive pain in my abdomen on many occasions, I got the Technetium-99m isotope injected into me with a tracer to get my gallbladder checked. Thanks to that, I am pain free and happy to be alive! I know it's stupid, but it really did save me. (I'm being honest about this, thank you for making this thread. I will be checking back regularly)
[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;45403042]No one has ever been born with mutations like youve seen in the movies. Radiation can cause breaks in the DNA which break off and then replicate. This can cause a lot of issues, but its random. If you want fallout-tier mutants you will more likely get them from intentionally genetically engineering the DNA to have the genes you want. [/QUOTE] Funny thing about that, is that in fallout 3 the super mutants and large insects are not large only because of radiation, but because of genetic modification (at least in the canon) There is this thing called FEV, which stands for Forced Evolutionary Virus, which is essentially a supervirus that is designed to rewrite the host DNA. It was originally created to make men into supersoldiers but the whole nuclear armageddon thing caused it to get released into the environment where it contaminated loads of stuff. It isnt explicitly stated that large ants and other things are a result of the FEV but it is implied and it would make sense. IRL the effects of radiation on a cell will often times kill it. I think that we should derive more of our power from nuclear energy. My state is mostly hydroelectric, but we have a nuclear power station as well.
too bad biology prevents bugs from getting that big bugs IRL respirate through tubes below their exoskeleton, it works very well under a certain size but grown up they either require a ton more oxygen in the atmosphere (as present when big bugs did rule the earth) or the tubes to grow to a size to keep the tissue oxygenated, unfortunatly those tubes grow large enough to squeeze the rest of the innards and so there is a max size of bugs based on the oxygen content of the atmosphere which is currently at historical lows
Only way to make bugs grow larger without them suffocating would probably be to engineer them to have lungs and a proper vascular system akin to higher lifeforms.
[QUOTE=ironman17;45456010]Only way to make bugs grow larger without them suffocating would probably be to engineer them to have lungs and a proper vascular system akin to higher lifeforms.[/QUOTE] i think thats how fallout explains the giant bugs at some point
Makes sense, lungs would be a big step towards making bugs the size of people.
bugs could, technically, not get harmed. Animals, on the otherhand, might have some problems. After a few years, it could cause some transformation. I didn't major in biology, so I base my fact off of my own personal thoughts.
I've got an idea; Hire Michael Bay.
Bug thread.
I've come to find out that Kirk Sorenson (Arguably the lead proponent of LFTR) is currently at my Uni getting his masters in Nuclear Engineering. I've been wanting to help out with the project for a while and I think I've found my chance.
If you think you can help get LFTR up into the big leagues with Mr Sorenson, go for it. It's a pretty damn cool advancement in nuclear tech, running on a much more abundant fuel and posing less of an environmental hazard. Also, would an LFTR send out less radiation than the average 50's style atom smashers we've been stuck with for the past 60-odd years?
oh yeah, I forgot to mention: i got a ton of old US government nuclear training materials from an old friend of mine. they're from the early 70's. If anyone wants to know anything about them, feel free to post a question here, or if it's more private, shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to supply pictures. no bombs, of course, just the technology behind it. edit: [video=youtube;RsU74R_vdnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsU74R_vdnM[/video] This is a really cool video done by a pretty chill old guy taking apart a GE X-Ray tube. I skipped around, but I love his reaction to it in the end when he fires it up.
Feel free to lay down a few of those things, it'll help spark discussion.
[QUOTE=Polonium9;45467613]<XR disassembly>[/QUOTE] Impressed you can find one in a scrap yard for around $20 like he did, woah. It's pretty awesome the way the basic concept behind some of the tubes has stayed the same for so long - if you take the filament insert from that for example, you'd be able to compare it to a much older tube. When I'm back at (and actually in) uni, I'll see if I can get a pic of some of our old tube parts.
[QUOTE=Terminutter;45470121]Impressed you can find one in a scrap yard for around $20 like he did, woah. It's pretty awesome the way the basic concept behind some of the tubes has stayed the same for so long - if you take the filament insert from that for example, you'd be able to compare it to a much older tube. When I'm back at (and actually in) uni, I'll see if I can get a pic of some of our old tube parts.[/QUOTE] you'd be amazed at what you can find in a scrap yard. I found some of my hottest minerals in a guys back yard in rock dump! The other amazing thing is, besides his, those are still in use to this day. In the older dentists office that I've been to, they have these kick ass old x-ray machines. I've brought a geiger counter in there and tested it. Pretty interesting how fast it is. edit: Content [t]http://i.imgur.com/klVhV1K.png[/t] This is a Nicotine Alkaloid Control Plate. It was said to remove all that nicotine and tar from cigarettes. It was radioactive due to a small dusting of Monazite sands (thorium, rare earth metals). Needless to say, it didn't work. :v: [t]http://i.imgur.com/Dl176xw.png[/t] This is a Super Takumar 50mm f1.4. It was common place to put Thorium in lenses as it helped with diffraction, I believe. Highly radioactive, and considered one of the best lenses to ever. And boy, it is. (the radioactivity would get stopped by the metal camera backdoor/panel) [t]http://i.imgur.com/HfH4xga.png[/t] This little vial is Uranium ore from Wyoming. I collected it myself at a mine there. comprising mostly of Andersonite and Carnotite. Very little Novacekite. (I got tons more) It's not strong at all, and that's why I would carry it with me. It's fun to show someone that you carry uranium ore and show how little radioactive it is. obligatory Bert the Turtle [video=youtube;Inh6h3r_Eik]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inh6h3r_Eik[/video]
I have always been interested this area of science. I took it upon myself to attempt gamma spectroscopy, using a lead shield, scintillation counter, and a Gamma Spectacular adapter for my computer. I also got one of those 10 microcurie Cs-137 discs for calibration. A really fucking expensive hobby, but I was intrigued to learn how these instruments work and what they could possibly find out. Here is a sample of Cs-137 from my shielded detector. Unfortunately the shape of my shielding seems to cause some "clouding" of the results towards 50-200 keV. However, the background count is drastically reduced by it, and so I use it in spite of this limitation. [URL]http://s22.postimg.org/kin06k26p/spectrum1.png[/URL] I am an amateur, so I make no claims to what is actually in it, but I can tell you my methods, equipment, and provide data. The data itself doesn't really say much about the concentration anyways, just content. I was lucky enough to receive some soil samples from Japan, one from Tokyo that, although was fairly active on a Geiger counter, appeared to test for Bi-214, Ra-226, Pb-210 through gamma spectroscopy, rather than fallout products.. Another sample of higher activity , taken from near Fukushima appeared to test positive for Cs-134 and 137. I wouldn't really be surprised if this was the case. But it was an interesting exercise nonetheless. [IMG]http://s30.postimg.org/4lzfn24b5/Data_1b.png[/IMG] After a few years, to possibly confirm Cs-134 I want to retest the samples to find out whether it was Cs-134 , and if Cs-137 is still present. Again, take it for what its worth, I thought maybe the folks here would find it interesting.
[QUOTE=Polonium9;45490574]you'd be amazed at what you can find in a scrap yard. I found some of my hottest minerals in a guys back yard in rock dump! The other amazing thing is, besides his, those are still in use to this day. In the older dentists office that I've been to, they have these kick ass old x-ray machines. I've brought a geiger counter in there and tested it. Pretty interesting how fast it is. [/QUOTE] Hehe, some old ones are awesome, but other ones just need to be put out of their misery. I'm 95% sure one of the ones I've used is a plain film conversion, the thing was floor mounted, rather than roof mounted on a gantry. Thing was an absolute pain to position properly, table was nearly bust and the thing didn't have any servos helping to move it, substantial brute force helped...
Fantastic movie right here [video=youtube;5AUYCnzmDJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AUYCnzmDJY[/video]
I can see the use of Inertial confinement one as fusion torch to heat water for power generation. But how we will use tokamak for power generation anyway?
Actually its that simple also. When a tokamak fuses deuterium and tritium together, it releases a lot of neutrons. Most of the fusion energy comes in neutrons. Absorb the neutrons and you got heat, which can be use to create steam and make power
Sorry this thread had been dead for a bit. I was planning to have digital copies of all the information I learned over my summer camp but it was never shared with me. I'll email the director and ask her to share it with me so I can update stuff.
My favourite thing about peoples misconceptions about the word 'Nuclear' is simply MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). They where mainly called NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) but people wouldn't get in them afraid of being mutated or the general nuclear jazz. So they knocked the N off and added an I. I'd be more concerned about undeclared metal in ya thanks to the giant magnet in the machine!
[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;45577865]Sorry this thread had been dead for a bit. I was planning to have digital copies of all the information I learned over my summer camp but it was never shared with me. I'll email the director and ask her to share it with me so I can update stuff.[/QUOTE] No word in a week's time... regardless, I won't let this thread hit page 2. I have just finished [url=http://www.amazon.com/The-Age-Radiance-Dramatic-Atomic/dp/145166043X]my book[/url], and I must recommend it to everyone. It really feels like four books in one, detailing the work of the [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Solvay_conference_1927.jpg]fathers of modern science[/url], the world's atomic projects during WWII, the Cold War, and detailed accounts of the nuclear power plant incidents. Here's an interesting fact about the [I]hibakusha[/I], the Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors, that I just read from the book. 98/120,000 survivors have died from radiation-induced leukemia (.082%), and 850/100,000 died from tumors (0.85%). 40% of the survivors are still alive as of 2011. I'm going to update the OP a bit with some stuff. Try to keep this thread cool guys!
I have a question [img]http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2013/10/17/420x_q90_cMC_z/nuke1.jpg[/img] is that steam radioactive or what
[QUOTE=ragin cajun;45704601]I have a question [img]http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2013/10/17/420x_q90_cMC_z/nuke1.jpg[/img] is that steam radioactive or what[/QUOTE] no
[QUOTE=ragin cajun;45704601]I have a question [img]http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2013/10/17/420x_q90_cMC_z/nuke1.jpg[/img] is that steam radioactive or what[/QUOTE] afaik all of the water that comes into contact with any of the core elements is in a closed loop, and the heat is exchanged to a secondary loop.
[QUOTE=ragin cajun;45704601]I have a question [img]http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2013/10/17/420x_q90_cMC_z/nuke1.jpg[/img] is that steam radioactive or what[/QUOTE] [img]http://www.nrc.gov/images/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/student-bwr.gif[/img] The steam that is coming out is cooling water for the turbine loop. In the graphic its the loop running out on the right.
[QUOTE=Polonium9;45467613]oh yeah, I forgot to mention: i got a ton of old US government nuclear training materials from an old friend of mine. they're from the early 70's. If anyone wants to know anything about them, feel free to post a question here, or if it's more private, shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to supply pictures. no bombs, of course, just the technology behind it. edit: [video=youtube;RsU74R_vdnM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsU74R_vdnM[/video] This is a really cool video done by a pretty chill old guy taking apart a GE X-Ray tube. I skipped around, but I love his reaction to it in the end when he fires it up.[/QUOTE] Please post a bunch of these! That was an awesome video!
[QUOTE=OtherDalfite;45529848]Fantastic movie right here [video=youtube;5AUYCnzmDJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AUYCnzmDJY[/video][/QUOTE] My favorite movie right there.
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