Teen designs compact nuclear reactor for recycling nuclear waste...

[Anonemous]

http://phys.org/news/2013-03-teen-compact-nuclear-reactor.html

WTH? Kid is amazing but eh given a TED talk with just hype and little substance... I thought TED was for innovative ideas that were tested and work not the remashing of old ideas sprinkled with a green direction.

Reminds of me of that teen that created his own cancer screening test that is way better than the gold standard.

I guess if you can talk big you get publicity.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Awesome. I always said they need to just reburn this stuff in smaller scale. It may not be suitable for large scale as the energy density is too low, but it's suitable for small scale.

The current mars rover runs off nuclear power and is good for many years. Why not make nuclear vehicles or home generators that run on nuclear waste. At that scale it wont be as dangerous. Not any more dangerous than a tank full of highly flammable liquid.

Though anything that could threaten the oil industry wont be allowed to happen though. He'll get his 15 minutes of fame and we'll never hear about him again. It's really too bad that's how it works.

 

[Train]

Though anything that could threaten the oil industry wont be allowed to happen though. He'll get his 15 minutes of fame and we'll never hear about him again. It's really too bad that's how it works.

/Tinfoil Hat

 

[sourn]

/Tinfoil Hat

Lol that's not paranoia that's a fact. Aliens coming down to do anal probes and other (insert what ever the new and latest conspiracy theory is) is paranoia.

Huge corporations squishing anything that resembles competition is just good business (for them).

 

[herm0016]

The current mars rover runs off nuclear power and is good for many years. Why not make nuclear vehicles or home generators that run on nuclear waste. At that scale it wont be as dangerous. Not any more dangerous than a tank full of highly flammable liquid.

an RTG runs off very highly radioactive plutonum, and outputs a comparativly small amount of power.
not "nuclear wast" and it is much more dangrous. You will get acute radation sickness if you sleep next to the thing for an entire night.

when is the last time sleeping in a car killed somebody?

background: I am NRC certified to handle chemical and electonic sources and do up to 50 ci. I use these sources to make somewhat complacated measurements using different properties of radioactive particals.

 

[MaxPayne63]

Lol that's not paranoia that's a fact. Aliens coming down to do anal probes and other (insert what ever the new and latest conspiracy theory is) is paranoia.

Huge corporations squishing anything that resembles competition is just good business (for them).

Go talk to a random American about nuclear power for five minutes.

That's why nuclear anything isn't going to happen. No need for bullshit conspiracy theories about BIG SCARY OIL capping an eighteen year old.

 

[zinfamous]

Go talk to a random American about nuclear power for five minutes.

That's why nuclear anything isn't going to happen. No need for bullshit conspiracy theories about BIG SCARY OIL capping an eighteen year old.

....So why do random Americans believe such things about nuclear power?

:hmm:

 

[MaxPayne63]

....So why do random Americans believe such things about nuclear power?

:hmm:

For the same reason they can't read or write at an age appropriate level.

 

[TridenT]

I'm calling BS.

 

[zinfamous]

For the same reason they can't read or write at an age appropriate level.

yes, but what does that mean? Assuming they could read, what is it about the information they do receive--either via tele-video interface or written word, that would lead them to these beliefs?

 

[herm0016]

oh, and phys.org posted this gem: http://phys.org/news/2013-02-german-student-electromagnetic-harvester-recharge.html

ha! I guess he discovered induction and we just got lucky trasformers work untill now.

 

[Aikouka]

yes, but what does that mean? Assuming they could read, what is it about the information they do receive--either via tele-video interface or written word, that would lead them to these beliefs?

People tend to hold irrational beliefs that just because something happened elsewhere that it will happen to them. They don't care to look up facts or any of the information surrounding the event. To them, that fancy new, up-to-date nuclear plant is the next Fukushima.

We actually get around 30% of our power from nuclear plants run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

 

[CrackRabbit]

People tend to hold irrational beliefs that just because something happened elsewhere that it will happen to them. They don't care to look up facts or any of the information surrounding the event. To them, that fancy new, up-to-date nuclear plant is the next Fukushima.

We actually get around 30% of our power from nuclear plants run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

I don't have a problem with nuclear power, I do have a problem with the idea of Joe Redneck irradiating the neighborhood because he decided duct tape was the appropriate way to fix the broken cooling pipe for reactor at his house.

 

[Aikouka]

I don't have a problem with nuclear power, I do have a problem with the idea of Joe Redneck irradiating the neighborhood because he decided duct tape was the appropriate way to fix the broken cooling pipe for reactor at his house.

Oh, I don't mean everyone by that remark. As is typical with any terrible event (Fukushima, Sandy Hook, etc.), we had an outcry of people wanting to ensure that it would never happen to them. They didn't care that Fukushima was an old reactor with poor protection from flood damage (to the generators), they wanted to condemn all nuclear power. Why? Because they're idiots that don't care about facts.

EDIT:

...and to be clear, I was talking about real nuclear power plants... not the IKEA DIY special.

 

[mmntech]

....So why do random Americans believe such things about nuclear power?

:hmm:

A lot of FUD from environmental groups mostly. They look at Chernobyl and Fukashima and think that could happen to any plant at any time. It's just not the case. Those both involved catastrophic failures. One due to an unprecedented earthquake, the other due to the Soviets complete disregard for safety.

 

[lxskllr]

A lot of FUD from environmental groups mostly. They look at Chernobyl and Fukashima and think that could happen to any plant at any time. It's just not the case. Those both involved catastrophic failures. One due to an unprecedented earthquake, the other due to the Soviets complete disregard for safety.

Nuclear is suboptimal. While failures are rare, they do happen, and the consequences can be very bad. If a wind farm goes tits up, you just lose power. If a nuclear plant goes tits up, you can utterly destroy local areas, and seriously affect distant areas. Nuclear isn't the end game. It's a step towards something better.

 

[Agent11]

I would be interested in how much of it is actually new. There are a lot of designs for various types of fission reactors. Most steer clear of weapons grade materials because the government doesn't like that stuff in circulation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUeBSoEnRk This video is all the google tech talks condensed into 16m, definitely a must watch if you know nothing about liquid fluoride thorium reactors.

I would prefer this design get backing.

 

[zinfamous]

A lot of FUD from environmental groups mostly. They look at Chernobyl and Fukashima and think that could happen to any plant at any time. It's just not the case. Those both involved catastrophic failures. One due to an unprecedented earthquake, the other due to the Soviets complete disregard for safety.

well, I'm pushing towards the realization that there is FUD from all sides. I don't think the machinations of Big Oil should be ignored--seeing as they have far more influence and sway than any environmental group, and nuclear is simply bad for business.

And to your argument--people really don't need misinformation from any group to be frightened by what happened at Chernobyl and Fukushima, and 3 Mile Island. Yes, the reality of the situations get overblown and completely misrepresented (Chernobyl wasn't so much a safety disaster as it was a specific supervisor on duty refusing to admit fault by enacting safety protocol. Had he acted properly, it would have been avoided. But admitting that a meltdown was occurring was tantamount to admitting that the Soviet system had somehow failed, and he refused to accept that possibility), but it's easy enough for the events themselves to trigger such reactions.

BTW, I'm on your side w/ regards nuclear power.

 

[K1052]

an RTG runs off very highly radioactive plutonum, and outputs a comparativly small amount of power.
not "nuclear wast" and it is much more dangrous. You will get acute radation sickness if you sleep next to the thing for an entire night.

when is the last time sleeping in a car killed somebody?

background: I am NRC certified to handle chemical and electonic sources and do up to 50 ci. I use these sources to make somewhat complacated measurements using different properties of radioactive particals.

er....P-238 based RTGs require minimal radiation shielding since it's almost exclusively an alpha emitter. NASA techs have spent a lot more time around them over the years than just a few hours.

 

[Murloc]

"genius student does this" - it's bs.
I'm not even going to waste my time watching that video.
I see this kind of stuff too much, people with huge inventions getting put down by big oil etc. and when you look at it, it's a bunch of bs. I don't know much about nuclear but close to here there was this 50 years old genius mechanic who invented a device which in the end was just a retartedly pricey flywheel to do regenerative braking with fuel consumptions measurements done wrong (he had defeated thermodynamics according to them). And sure enough, everybody was going like hurr durr them car manufacturers keeping him down because they're scared he's going to destroy their profits bro, or the big oil is buying them out.

 

[Wyndru]

I thought TED was for innovative ideas that were tested and work not the remashing of old ideas sprinkled with a green direction.

TED has gotten very broad these days, they let anyone on these presentations now. I've seen a lot of people on TED in the last few years with ideas that are way out there.

Like the whacko that said that schools shouldn't have teachers anymore, and kids can teach themselves using the internet. And he had a ton of followers. Will Richardson I think his name was.

 

[HeXen]

Oh, I don't mean everyone by that remark. As is typical with any terrible event (Fukushima, Sandy Hook, etc.), we had an outcry of people wanting to ensure that it would never happen to them. They didn't care that Fukushima was an old reactor with poor protection from flood damage (to the generators), they wanted to condemn all nuclear power. Why? Because they're idiots that don't care about facts.

EDIT:

...and to be clear, I was talking about real nuclear power plants... not the IKEA DIY special.

I think it's trust, not ignorance. Can we really trust others to properly manage something like that?...We thought BP could with oil rigs, but now we realize we can't. It only takes 1 time, it's not like we can allow for any mistakes, poor decisions..etc. We have to have trust and transparency.

For example, i have my life to live, i can't be bothered to be privy with who would be running the place, if they might be paying bribes, taking them or trying to be a cheapass....so no i don't want a powerplant in my backyard, not run by American's, that's for sure. I trusted BP and within my lifetime they have already failed me, historically it's not a bad ratio, but it's the point they were in a sensitive business that can cause serious harm. We may not have had a Chernobyl yet, but doesn't mean we won't either.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Nuclear is suboptimal. While failures are rare, they do happen, and the consequences can be very bad. If a wind farm goes tits up, you just lose power. If a nuclear plant goes tits up, you can utterly destroy local areas, and seriously affect distant areas. Nuclear isn't the end game. It's a step towards something better.

Please don't pretend wind farms are harmless, failures already killed more people than nuke plants in U.S.

http://toryaardvark.com/2011/03/18/wind-energy-has-killed-more-americans-than-nuclear/

Hmm what about the yummy RADIOACTIVE particles coal plants simply emit into the air than safely confined into waste in nuke plants? Hmm...

 

[Smoblikat]

/Tinfoil Hat

That is not some conspiracy BS, its a well known fact that lobbyists and big corp run our world.

 

[lxskllr]

Please don't pretend wind farms are harmless, failures already killed more people than nuke plants in U.S.

http://toryaardvark.com/2011/03/18/wind-energy-has-killed-more-americans-than-nuclear/

Hmm what about the yummy RADIOACTIVE particles coal plants simply emit into the air than safely confined into waste in nuke plants? Hmm...

Wow, they killed a whole 35 people since 1970. I never realized the spectacular danger windmills presented :^S

It's that kind of retarded reporting that's dooming us as a country.

Oh yea, and that site eats shit. It looks like it was designed by a blind retard on acid. Myspace holds a higher standard for design...

Edit:
I'll retract the blind retard comment. The page didn't render right on first load. It looks acceptable after reload.