News NVIDIA and Intel to Develop AI Infrastructure and Personal Computing Products

[Joe NYC]

They need to switch to Thorium power plants. Uranium is partially used because they want dual use for military, which is asinine because it's basically promoting extinction. So plan to decomissioning all existing plants for thorium ones.

By the way, Nuclear isn't completely clean. Regular operation itself slowly leaks radiation around the environment. It doesn't need 3-mile island or Chernobyl to do so.

Also, if it results in electric costs for average people, there should be curbing on datacenters. Priorities are really screwed up in countries where everything is comfortable and cushy like West.

It just happens that coal burning power plants emit more radiation than nuclear power plants, so the amount must be very low.

Gen IV nuclear power plants typically sodium cooled fast breeding reactors have quite a leap in efficiency and safety. Both Russia and China are building them. The West is now lagging quite a bit in nuclear energy.

 

[DavidC1]

Gen IV nuclear power plants typically sodium cooled fast breeding reactors have quite a leap in efficiency and safety. Both Russia and China are building them. The West is now lagging quite a bit in nuclear energy.

Moral degradation propagates into technical issues. Like the problems Boeing is having now. In turns out "traditional" values like family and religion is really good for focus, memory, goals, and an overall good person, or you know just not doing unhuman things.

 

[inquiss]

Moral degradation propagates into technical issues. Like the problems Boeing is having now. In turns out "traditional" values like family and religion is really good for focus, memory, goals, and an overall good person, or you know just not doing unhuman things.

What the hell are you talking about?

 

[Joe NYC]

Moral degradation propagates into technical issues. Like the problems Boeing is having now. In turns out "traditional" values like family and religion is really good for focus, memory, goals, and an overall good person, or you know just not doing unhuman things.

The issues holding back nuclear power in the West are political and ideological. Ideological are the funniest ones, since in the goal to lower carbon footprint, they instead transfer power generation from no footprint nuclear to high footprint gas, and the dirtiest of all - coal.

Building leading edge foundries in Taiwan will continue to face this issue.

As far as technological issues, it's all just down to engineering. Physical principles have all been solved on the theoretical.

Even a country as broke as Russia, since 1990s, has been able to complete Gen 4 prototypes, operate them on experimental bases and is finally near completion of commercial level. This was just on basis of their technology level from 1980s and minimum additional investment.

China, OTOH, wasn't even on the map, had no commercial nuclear power plants just ~35 years ago, has caught up or even overtaken Russia.

Even France, which is operating one of the largest fleets of nuclear plants has mostly stopped investment in new generations of nuclear power plants.

Features that Gen 4 offers are:
- safety: you can disconnect it from power and from human operators and it will safely shut itself down, on its own, in case of accident
- efficiency: instead of ~5% energy extracted by current nuclear power plants, it can extract up to ~95% of energy, by using fast breeding reactors and fuel reprocessing
- nuclear waste: because of how well it burns the energy, the amount waste that is left over is less, and degrades in terms of years and decades, rather than 1000s of years
- existing stockpiles of nuclear waste: these plants can re-use this spent fuel. There are tons of this spent fuel around the world, and it can be reused, unlocking the remaining ~90% of its energy. Which can in turn reduce the need for new uranium mining.

 

[adroc_thurston]

Ideological are the funniest ones, since in the goal to lower carbon footprint, they instead transfer power generation from no footprint nuclear to high footprint gas, and the dirtiest of all - coal.

you can just say 'Merkel'.

 

[Joe NYC]

you can just say 'Merkel'.

Merkel is the poster child for this bad energy / environmental policy.

But everyone knows about Merkel. What most people (including people who follow semiconductor industry) are unaware of is that Taiwan did the same. At its highest point, nuclear energy contributed 50% of Taiwan energy needs, and now it is zero. The last nuclear plant was apparently decommissioned just in August of this year.

Aside from high energy needs of semiconductor fabs, the AI datacenters are pure energy hogs, and lack of any surplus power generation in most of the Western countries is going to hold back this industry, most notably NVidia - if we project to the future the use of energy vs. new power generation coming online.

 

[adroc_thurston]

What most people (including people who follow semiconductor industry) are unaware of is that Taiwan did the same. At its highest point, nuclear energy contributed 50% of Taiwan energy needs, and now it is zero. The last nuclear plant was apparently decommissioned just in August of this year.

Taiwan's just kinda of in an pickle since NPPs tend to be extra vulnerable to IRBMs.

 

[Joe NYC]

Taiwan's just kinda of in an pickle since NPPs tend to be extra vulnerable to IRBMs.

But that's not really even needed if there was anyone sick enough who would want to turn Taiwan into Chernobyl. IRBM with nuclear warhead can do that job alone just fine.

So, if Taiwan is to be screwed one day, having nuclear power plants would not have made an iota of difference. Taiwan "disarmed" itself (as far as its energy needs) for nothing, other than ideological reason, similar to Germany.

 

[adroc_thurston]

IRBM with nuclear warhead can do that job alone just fine.

Well see, nukes are a no-go in terms of actual usage.

 

[Thunder 57]

It just happens that coal burning power plants emit more radiation than nuclear power plants, so the amount must be very low.

Gen IV nuclear power plants typically sodium cooled fast breeding reactors have quite a leap in efficiency and safety. Both Russia and China are building them. The West is now lagging quite a bit in nuclear energy.

Russia and China don't have all kinds of issues stopping them like the West does. What really sucks is that what is stopping progress is all nonsense.