How'd you like to be the guy pressing the button for 40 years?
A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
31–40 of 170 posts
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#32I was under the impression that thorium-salt reactors have been tried in the past and not deemed "worth" from security and profitability point of view. What has changed about that ?
They have different problems that pressured water reactors and are not as applicable to applications that the military would like to use them for. So the government sponsored research labs that were running and experimenting with them stopped doing so when research funds ran out. Add to the insane risk of investing in anything 'nuclear' and you don't have a lot of available capital. That said, the Chinese who invest…
>> Oddly enough, as an American, I am looking forward to the first thing that China builds that "we" American's cannot because we lack expertise and/or technology to do so.
Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
They have different problems that pressured water reactors and are not as applicable to applications that the military would like to use them for. So the government sponsored research labs that were running and experimenting with them stopped doing so when research funds ran out. Add to the insane risk of investing in anything 'nuclear' and you don't have a lot of available capital. That said, the Chinese who invest…
>> Oddly enough, as an American, I am looking forward to the first thing that China builds that "we" American's cannot because we lack expertise and/or technology to do so. Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
> Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
Or, as a German, too much regulation/politics to Get Shit Done.
Just look what happened to Transrapid (maglev rail). All tech and IP went off to China, and we're stuck in 1980-and-earlier carriages for anything not an ICE or regio trains.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
They have different problems that pressured water reactors and are not as applicable to applications that the military would like to use them for. So the government sponsored research labs that were running and experimenting with them stopped doing so when research funds ran out. Add to the insane risk of investing in anything 'nuclear' and you don't have a lot of available capital. That said, the Chinese who invest…
>> Oddly enough, as an American, I am looking forward to the first thing that China builds that "we" American's cannot because we lack expertise and/or technology to do so. Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
Exactly right. The one that came in conversation waiting for the eclipse was genetic editing of fetuses to eliminate inherited disease. Setting aside the whole 'designer babies' as a distraction imagine a company that give free genetic treatment for couples seeking to avoid passing on known bad genes. When you walk that forward and look at the cost associated with treating, diagnosing, and supporting people that later get the disease, you begin to see a huge economic 'win' by giving them free genetic help early.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#35This was apparently at the High Flux Reactor in Petten, Netherlands.
https://articles.thmsr.nl/petten-has-started-world-s-first-t...
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> Oddly enough, as an American, I am looking forward to the first thing that China builds that "we" American's cannot because we lack expertise and/or technology to do so. Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
Exactly right. The one that came in conversation waiting for the eclipse was genetic editing of fetuses to eliminate inherited disease. Setting aside the whole 'designer babies' as a distraction imagine a company that give free genetic treatment for couples seeking to avoid passing on known bad genes. When you walk that forward and look at the cost associated with treating, diagnosing, and supporting people that late…
Why would you expect that treatment to be free?
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not so sure about that. Might risk these billions of coal jobs he created...
Also those two do not believe in global warming. (One thing nuclear does not cause) It make take a long time for thorium reactors to come online but it is hard to believe anybody is going to fund the construction of a new large LWR anywhere outside China.
> (One thing nuclear does not cause)
However, two problems remain:
1) where to get the raw material? African mines are not exactly known for adhering to human or environmental rights, also African mines, by nature of being in Africa, don't create American jobs. Same is valid for the other major sources of nuclear fuel, all of which aren't the USA.
2) where to dump all the nuclear waste? I mean, people have debated to put in the most long-living and nasty stuff into special reactors to get it split up to less harmful stuff, but to my knowledge this has never been realized - and NIMBYs are highly afraid of a rad-waste dump near their houses, across the world. Also, no one has shown how to build something that can last over ten thousands of years while still protecting the rad waste.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#38Really happy to finally see some movement with Thorium. It might not be the magic silver bullet that some people hype it up to be, but it needs to be explored.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly right. The one that came in conversation waiting for the eclipse was genetic editing of fetuses to eliminate inherited disease. Setting aside the whole 'designer babies' as a distraction imagine a company that give free genetic treatment for couples seeking to avoid passing on known bad genes. When you walk that forward and look at the cost associated with treating, diagnosing, and supporting people that late…
Why would you expect that treatment to be free?
If the cost of editing is not exorbitant (i.e. is lower than the average per-capita cost of paying for the condition being edited away), healthcare providers would be incentivized to pay for the editing to reduce their costs.
The incentives are obviously stronger in single-payer countries, but even in the US you could imagine an insurance company that competed on lower premiums conditional upon certain gene edits being applied to covered children.
Re: A Thorium-Salt Reactor Has Fired Up for the First Time in Four Decades
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> Oddly enough, as an American, I am looking forward to the first thing that China builds that "we" American's cannot because we lack expertise and/or technology to do so. Or too much regulation or politics to allow.
> Or too much regulation or politics to allow. Or, as a German, too much regulation/politics to Get Shit Done. Just look what happened to Transrapid (maglev rail). All tech and IP went off to China, and we're stuck in 1980-and-earlier carriages for anything not an ICE or regio trains.
> and we're stuck in 1980-and-earlier carriages for anything not an ICE or regio trains.
Actually, the InterCity and EuroCity fleet was just entirely replaced.
This means the entire fleet – S, Region, InterCity, EuroCity, InterCityExpress – is now replaced, or being replaced, with modern stock.