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Rolls-Royce plans mini nuclear reactors by 2029

bbc.co.uk

351–353 of 353 posts

Re: Rolls-Royce plans mini nuclear reactors by 2029

#351
post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming there are that many panels, it is in fact quite easy for any industrialized country to design a weapon that can destroy a square mile of panels or more with a single warhead. They're thin sheets of silicon covered in glass.

A square mile is 2.6 square km. You are replying to someone who said it would be hard to destroy thousands of square km of panels. It would seem that your reply, that "it is…easy…to…destroy a square mile of panels or more with a single warhead", is not to the point. However, by coincidence, your position is right, for two reasons: 1. Single nuclear warheads routinely have blast radii of tens of km rather than, as you…

I was replying to a comment that said solar panels are vulnerable to terrorists.

If terrorists have a nuclear warhead they are going to use it against a city not solar panels. Similarly if terrorists have a weapon that can take out thousands of square km of panels it can easily take out existing powerplants (which btw are not armored or in bunkers - apart from some limited shield on nuclear powerplant cores.

The point here is that solar panels are not more vulnerable to terrorists than the existing infrastructure and are probably less vulnerable due to size and how distributed they are.

Re: Rolls-Royce plans mini nuclear reactors by 2029

#352
post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to understand that "Lowest deaths per terawatt-hour" is not the sole stat to look at to determine something's danger. I think the flat amount of direct and indirect death, as well as considering the amount of people who's quality of life has diminished, but not enough to kill them. Other energy industries have these problems too, so I have no idea how they actually compare.

Energy sources like coal undoubtedly reduce the quality of life of individuals near the energy source more than nuclear.

“X is better than coal” is damning with faint praise.

“At least I am not a mass murderer.”

Re: Rolls-Royce plans mini nuclear reactors by 2029

#353
I wish them luck, but the projected price of £70/MW hr sounds very expensive. I gather the retail price in the UK is about double that. That must put them right on the edge of profitability now, and the things have a design life of 60 years. If they have to hit that 60 life to get that £70/MW hr they must know they are already screwed, surely?
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