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Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

popularmechanics.com

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Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#31

Post by bell-cot »

SonOfKyuss wrote: post #26
billy99k wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These public freak outs is also why we don't have abundant nuclear energy. The climate activists of the 60s-90s stopped us from building more reactors, one of the cleanest sources of energy ever known.

The activists of the 60s-90s were witnesses to the nuclear bombing of Japan, domestic nuclear accidents, as well as a nuclear arms race that threatened to wipe out all of humanity. It is unfortunate that we threw the baby out with the bathwater when it came to nuclear power generation, but the people who had issues with nuclear in that era did have good reasons to be afraid.

Yep. Also, the pro-nuclear techno-utopians of that era promised that nuclear electricity would be too cheap too meter, nuclear-powered cars would be common, and quite a few other things.

If the public doesn't understand complex new thing X, and advocates for X have obviously told them all sorts of lies - yeah. Don't be surprised if the public becomes extremely skeptical about X.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#32

Post by Blamklmo »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #17

When I studied chemistry at university, only a handful of select students were introduced to the nuclear science lab in the basement. It had a lot of spicy isotopes, neutron sources, etc. Even as a chemistry student with free run of the place for years I had no idea it was in the building until the department head pulled a few of us aside. The reason for the informal secrecy, as it was explained to me, is that every…

[dead]

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#33

Post by ldoughty »

simianparrot wrote: post #27
cogman10 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Climate activists backed and propagandized by the fossil fuel industry and the KGB. And now that there are a number of barriers to creating new nuclear, the propaganda has flipped with fossil fuel companies supporting nuclear because they know it'll be decades before anything real can happen. I have nothing against nuclear and if it can be built I'm for it. But at the moment, solar + battery is quick to deploy and ab…

Ok but what about when it’s night time or cloudy?

Molten salt solar power doesn't care. It remains hot.

Advancements in solar also are improving with clouds.

Also, you know, batteries. When someone makes it cost effective to install a device to sell your car battery power on the grid we'll also have a better time managing the grid during spikes... Would be nice if that also did home battery backup in blackouts... 70 kWh would get me through most of the ones I've experienced.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#34

Post by fragmede »

IshKebab wrote: post #23
Yokolos wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a distinction without a difference to me? > And aside from a license renewal snafu in 1980, the device made no waves until its existence was shared with the local newspaper—it wasn’t a secret, just unpublicized.

In this context "secret" implies they didn't tell the government. Merely not publicising an internal project is totally normal and doesn't warrant "secret project!!"

yeah but is this internal project one where we kidnap homeless people and torture them in the name of science or is it because we spent $50,000 to make a new logo? Some secret are meant to be kept. Others are meant to be blown wide open. Others... Other just are, and nobody need to know. Posting that a particular woman's a slut is a shitty thing to do on Facebook, but if one of my male friends is feeling extra lonely and ready to end it all, there's a date or two I could set him up on.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#35

Post by dgacmu »

simianparrot wrote: post #27
cogman10 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Climate activists backed and propagandized by the fossil fuel industry and the KGB. And now that there are a number of barriers to creating new nuclear, the propaganda has flipped with fossil fuel companies supporting nuclear because they know it'll be decades before anything real can happen. I have nothing against nuclear and if it can be built I'm for it. But at the moment, solar + battery is quick to deploy and ab…

Ok but what about when it’s night time or cloudy?

Solar + battery + wind actually do pretty well. There's a bit of a de-correlation between solar and wind that makes the mix more resilient than either alone. We can't do 100% in most places yet, but it's pretty straightforward to move to a much higher percentage of them in our grid mix than we have now, California possibly excepting. (But even in California you see battery starting to extend how much we can do with solar as prices continue to drop.)

And the plummeting price of solar modules makes it more cost effective to over provision for the case of clouds, and/or to mount solar panels to optimize for morning and evening production as well.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#36

Post by StopDisinfo910 »

cogman10 wrote: post #22
billy99k wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These public freak outs is also why we don't have abundant nuclear energy. The climate activists of the 60s-90s stopped us from building more reactors, one of the cleanest sources of energy ever known.

Climate activists backed and propagandized by the fossil fuel industry and the KGB. And now that there are a number of barriers to creating new nuclear, the propaganda has flipped with fossil fuel companies supporting nuclear because they know it'll be decades before anything real can happen. I have nothing against nuclear and if it can be built I'm for it. But at the moment, solar + battery is quick to deploy and ab…

> But at the moment, solar + battery is quick to deploy and about as cheap as you can get.

The actual equation is solar + battery + gas fired power plant.

That’s the dirty secret behind intermittent power sources and why fossil fuel companies are all investing in solar and wind. Batteries are simply not enough to face the long term intermittence. It’s purely an intra-day solution at the moment and nobody knows how to actually run a large grid on purely intermittent sources.

Even China is actually aggressively pursuing nuclear at the same time it builds an insane amount of solar and gas fired power plants.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#37

Post by MassiveQuasar »

SonOfKyuss wrote: post #26
billy99k wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These public freak outs is also why we don't have abundant nuclear energy. The climate activists of the 60s-90s stopped us from building more reactors, one of the cleanest sources of energy ever known.

The activists of the 60s-90s were witnesses to the nuclear bombing of Japan, domestic nuclear accidents, as well as a nuclear arms race that threatened to wipe out all of humanity. It is unfortunate that we threw the baby out with the bathwater when it came to nuclear power generation, but the people who had issues with nuclear in that era did have good reasons to be afraid.

Were they good reasons or did they just fell victim to their feelings?

Not creating nuclear power plants because you're afraid of some bombs is good reasoning?

What about the millions of deaths to fossil fuels every year? Are they better than the nuclear accidents we had?

I don't think good reasoning is why they felt that nuclear power was bad.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#38

Post by rayiner »

billy99k wrote: post #20
jandrewrogers wrote: post #17

When I studied chemistry at university, only a handful of select students were introduced to the nuclear science lab in the basement. It had a lot of spicy isotopes, neutron sources, etc. Even as a chemistry student with free run of the place for years I had no idea it was in the building until the department head pulled a few of us aside. The reason for the informal secrecy, as it was explained to me, is that every…

These public freak outs is also why we don't have abundant nuclear energy. The climate activists of the 60s-90s stopped us from building more reactors, one of the cleanest sources of energy ever known.

If the entire developed world had followed the same energy usage and nuclearization path as france, we’d be able to accommodate the entire developing world increasing carbon footprint up to the French level within the same overall carbon footprint we have today.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#39

Post by lazide »

ldoughty wrote: post #33
simianparrot wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok but what about when it’s night time or cloudy?

Molten salt solar power doesn't care. It remains hot. Advancements in solar also are improving with clouds. Also, you know, batteries. When someone makes it cost effective to install a device to sell your car battery power on the grid we'll also have a better time managing the grid during spikes... Would be nice if that also did home battery backup in blackouts... 70 kWh would get me through most of the ones I've exp…

Molten salt absolutely does care, keeping it molten controls how much power can be withdrawn. It’s a form of thermal battery (and an inefficient one).

If the sun is shining vs not (and if further withdrawal will freeze the salt) absolutely controls power output.

Re: Kodak ran a nuclear device in its basement for decades

#40

Post by rayiner »

cogman10 wrote: post #22
billy99k wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These public freak outs is also why we don't have abundant nuclear energy. The climate activists of the 60s-90s stopped us from building more reactors, one of the cleanest sources of energy ever known.

Climate activists backed and propagandized by the fossil fuel industry and the KGB. And now that there are a number of barriers to creating new nuclear, the propaganda has flipped with fossil fuel companies supporting nuclear because they know it'll be decades before anything real can happen. I have nothing against nuclear and if it can be built I'm for it. But at the moment, solar + battery is quick to deploy and ab…

> Climate activists backed and propagandized by the fossil fuel industry and the KGB

Who are the current generation of climate activists backed and propagandized by?

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