Nuclear Reactor Fits on a Semi and Cools Without External Power

http://www.drivethedistrict.com/2014/06/05/this-nuclear-power-plant-fits-on-a-semi-and-cant-melt-down/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_campaign=drivethedistrict_2014&utm_medium=cpc

by wtracy • 12 years ago

9 3 12 years ago

drivethedistrict.com

TallGuyShort• 12 years ago

Looks a bit bigger than your typical semi-articulated trailer... They make some good points favor nuclear power that I happen to agree with, but I think they do everyone a disservice if they claim this "can't melt down". There are aspects of design that make it a more robust reactor, intended to avoid problems that have contributed to previous melt downs. That doesn't mean it "can't melt down". The engineering needs to be reviewed and the designers need to continue to be vigilant. Operators need to be cautious and safe. I promise you there's SOME WAY you can make this melt down.

tdicola• 12 years ago

I'm really curious why we haven't seen a datacenter with a nuclear reactor as power source. Presumably the regulatory hurdles and costs are very high, but it seems like a great long term way to cleanly power a ton of servers. Maybe you could use big evaporative cooling ponds to help cool the servers too.

Havoc• 12 years ago

I can't help but be skeptical on a number of levels here.

45MW is no where near "useful". A decent size normal plant produces 4000MW. Plus I'm not convinced that 100 mini reactors are safer than one well monitored big plant.

I'm also a little skeptical about the scale....45MW doesn't sound very "nuclear" to me. Nuclear scales badly on the low end. That combined with cooling based on convection and gravity suggests that this might be more along the lines of radioisotope driven rather than nuclear in the usual sense.

Hard to tell from an article with zero info, a nod toward Fukushima & green tech and a Grainy++ font.

Nuclear Reactor Fits on a Semi and Cools Without External Power

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