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China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

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Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#11

Post by smhost »

tablespoon wrote: post #9
tpmx wrote: post #3

That would be awesome, but unfortunately the CCP have proven to us that we can't trust their word.

> That would be awesome, but unfortunately the CCP has proven to us that we can't trust their word. Over and over again. IMHO, claims like this from them should be believed 100%, because to do otherwise invites complacency.

this also isn't the type of thing that governments tend to lie about. it's not like a scenario where a contractor overpromises and underdelivers and government media has to do damage control. they're also not announcing some new leap in scientific understanding. it's old science.

Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#14

Post by Tade0 »

seiferteric wrote: post #7
timbit42 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long does it take to plan and build a nuclear plant? At the rate solar, wind and energy storage are improving, will it be worth the wait? Solar has dropped in price by more than 80% in the past 10 years.

Compare the EROEI on solar (~10) vs nuclear (~100), and LFTR (~1200 maybe...) in particular, there is no comparison. In the future we will need far more electrical energy, it's not enough to just replace what we currently have. Also if we want to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere, we will need a tremendous amount of power.

Problem is, we might not be able to build them fast enough.

China is currently the leader in deployment of nuclear power, but even there wind power overtook it in terms of GWh delivered in 2013 and the difference was been widening ever since.

Similarly within a decade solar went from delivering 1% of the energy nuclear did, to 70%. At this rate it will close the gap before 2025.

Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#15

Post by wolverine876 »

smhost wrote: post #11
tablespoon wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That would be awesome, but unfortunately the CCP has proven to us that we can't trust their word. Over and over again. IMHO, claims like this from them should be believed 100%, because to do otherwise invites complacency.

this also isn't the type of thing that governments tend to lie about. it's not like a scenario where a contractor overpromises and underdelivers and government media has to do damage control. they're also not announcing some new leap in scientific understanding. it's old science.

> this also isn't the type of thing that governments tend to lie about

This is the sort of thing governments lie about, IME - big, sensational achievements that enhance their status.

Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#17

Post by tpmx »

duairc wrote: post #12
tpmx wrote: post #3

That would be awesome, but unfortunately the CCP have proven to us that we can't trust their word.

> CCP has proven to us that we can't trust their word. Over and over again. Are you able to substantiate that claim?

> Are you able to substantiate that claim?

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/18/china-covid-19-killed-h...

It is widely known that when the new coronavirus emerged in December 2019, the Chinese government downplayed the pandemic threat for several critical weeks. Less commonly known is those same authorities deliberately sacrificed health workers to maintain their lies.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) calculated cover-up enabled the coronavirus to go global. By silencing doctors, Beijing not only fueled this pandemic but also compromised the world’s ability to spot the next one.

Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#18

Post by ggm »

DennisP wrote: post #5
j_walter wrote: post #2

Nuclear is far from the best source of electricity, but it is far less damaging to the environment than coal or NG if handled and designed properly. If countries can work together to put them in places that protect from major earthquakes or other natural disasters then I think we can get some decent movement on reduce GHG emissions from power plants.

One nice thing about a molten salt reactor like China is building is that the dangerous fission products are chemically bound in the salt. If some external event breaks the reactor wide open, the salt cools and you just have radioactive rocks there on the site, instead of a radioactive cloud over a large region.

Look, I want to agree and I'm neither a geologist nor a nuclear scientist but I think you're fantasising if you think there will be no particulate, dispersed matter. The salt mix even if the lower temp melting mixtures is 200°C or more above ambient. It will explode on contact with moisture. There will be clouds of burning materials.

If you say LESS dispersed radiation? Sure. None... sorry not chemically or mechanically or hydraulically or meteorologically plausible.

The elephants foot degrades over time into dust. Radiation causes stress fractures in solids, crystalline structure disturbs. It's going to "decay" in the non radiative sense of the word.

Btw I am pro nuke, in Hypothesis. In my economy (oz) it would have been ideal 30 years ago. Now, with zero power nukes (only one medical manufacturer with a dido type swimming pool reactor) the build out is probably economically infeasible after lawsuit attack, compared to solar, wind and battery. But I remain hopeful of this new stuff, and the PBMR

Re: China Says It's Closing in on Thorium Nuclear Reactor

#20

Post by smhost »

wolverine876 wrote: post #15
smhost wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this also isn't the type of thing that governments tend to lie about. it's not like a scenario where a contractor overpromises and underdelivers and government media has to do damage control. they're also not announcing some new leap in scientific understanding. it's old science.

> this also isn't the type of thing that governments tend to lie about This is the sort of thing governments lie about, IME - big, sensational achievements that enhance their status.

maybe in movies. governments mostly tend to lie about things they did badly, not about long-term accomplishments that can be fairly easily measured against their previous record, currently level of expertise, etc.
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