Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

This board is closed and will be kept as an archive. Please head to our new home at tch-forum.com



(Existing members: Please check your PMs for your password on the new board. If you do not have a PM, then please send one to me)



Welcome to The Coffee House - your dose of caffeine!

The Coffee House is a friendly and informal community dedicated to having fun. We're a diverse bunch, and so we have plenty to offer, including:
  • Discussions on a wide range of subjects, from science and current events to sport and gaming (and most things in between!);
  • Community-centered forums where members can get to know each other better, and share things they've made;
  • Regularly-scheduled contests, where members can compete for awards and forum currency (Coffee Credits);
  • Shops, where members may spend the Coffee Credits they've earned;
  • A Discord server, where anyone can chat to our members in real time.
What you can see below is a snapshot of what we have to offer. To see the rest, and gain access to all of this, all you need to do is register as a member. Registration is quick, free and easy.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
China's "safe nuclear reactor"
Topic Started: Mar 21 2011, 12:46 AM (369 Views)
CJ
Member Avatar
A very minor case of serious brain damage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8393984/Safe-nuclear-does-exist-and-China-is-leading-the-way-with-thorium.html

Apparently, the Chinese have developed a form of nuclear power that is much safer than current reactors. Instead of using uranium, it uses a "thorium-based molten salt reactor system". According to the scientists, the radioactive waste produced is 1000 times less dangerous than that from conventional reactors.

There is another neat safety feature. If the reactor overheats, a plug melts and the fuel drains into a pan. There's no need for any computers or anything like that (which, as we saw in Japan, would cause major problems in the event of a natural disaster), so this system is much simpler and safer. It also operates at atmospheric pressure, so you won't get any explosions like there were at the Japanese reactor, and it's not capable of producing weapons-grade material.

What do you think? I think this sounds like it has a lot of potential. In the long term, power stations based on nuclear fusion look like a good solution, but that could still be several decades away. This could work as a more immediate solution.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lamna
Member Avatar


Sounds interesting, but it probably won't do much good here in the west.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CJ
Member Avatar
A very minor case of serious brain damage

I've looked into it a little more, and apparently, the technology for this type of reactor has existed since the 1960s (so it isn't actually anything new). However, I don't know to what extent it's been applied; or, indeed, why I never hear politicians advocating it...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Science and Nature · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Anti-Spam Bots! Mazeguy Smilies