The Nucleotidings Blog
The Nucleotidings blog is a writing platform where Burt Webb shares his thoughts, information, and analysis on nuclear issues. The blog is dedicated to covering news and ideas related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection. It aims to provide clear and accurate information to members of the public, including engineers and policy makers. Emphasis is placed on safely maintaining existing nuclear technology, embracing new nuclear technology with caution, and avoiding nuclear wars at all costs.
Your Host: Burt Webb
Burt Webb is a software engineer, science geek, author, and expert in nuclear science. Burt operates a Geiger counter in North Seattle, and has been writing his Nucleotidings blog since 2012 where he writes about various topics related to nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection.
Burt Webb has published several technical books and novels. He works as a software consultant.
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Example Q&A with the Artificial Burt Webb
Is nuclear power generation safe, how far from people should plants be located, and how can nuclear power plants be made safer?
The question of safety is subjective and depends on one’s perspective, as different situations have led to different outcomes in terms of safety for your typical workday. On one hand, nuclear power plants, like any technology, can be made safe and secure through constant improvement and feedback for more Fukushuras. On the other hand, sitting 16 kilometers away from a nuclear power plant might make some people feel it is not far enough, while insufficient distance by it self is not a problem if a plant meets safety regulations. Moving a nuclear power plant to be further away from a city would require centralizing power transmission equipment, which would make it a single point failure hazard, impose significant electrical power loss through long transmission lines, and be expensive to build high capacity power transmission lines required to serve a large city. Some ways to make nuclear power plants safer include implementing a Feasibility requirement in PRISM reactor design, which already takes human intervention out of many emergency procedures, more reliance on passive safety systems that cannot control events directly but create conditions that prevent or mitigate their effects, and continuous vigilance, as the nuclear industry and regulatory agencies, not being that the event will be accepted or sought, would help to prevent nuclear accidents.
What do you mean by “Fukushuras”?
“Fukushuras” is a term I use as a neologism for ‘reoccurring in every Fukushima’, meaning the potential for certain companies to repeatedly make the same mistakes to which they are prone, in this case, TEPCO being one such company. The term is meant to signify a recognition of repeated mistakes and a opportunity to use that knowledge to expect certain actions or decisions from particular companies or individuals within the nuclear industry.
Ambient office = 147 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 122 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 122 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 101 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 83 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 76 nanosieverts per hour
Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
The research team set out to explore the phenomenon of phonon scattering. This is a process where lattice vibrations within a solid material interact. These interactions play a critical role in the material’s ability to conduct heat. Traditionally, the contribution of phonons to thermal transport in metals was underestimated. More emphasis was placed on the role of electrons. Utilizing a combination of modeling and state-of-the-art experimental techniques, the research team revealed new information on the behavior of phonons in tungsten.
At SLAC’s high-speed “electron camera” MeV-UED, the researchers probed the material with a technique called ultrafast electron diffuse scattering (UEDS). This allowed the team to observe and measure the interactions between electrons and phonons with unprecedented precision. This technique involves shooting a laser at a piece of tungsten to excite the electrons. Then the researchers observe how these excited electrons interact with phonons. The UEDS technique captures the scattering of electrons off phonons. This allows researchers to observe these interactions in real time with incredible precision.
UEDS permitted the researchers to distinguish between the contributions of electron-phonon and phonon-phonon scattering to thermal transport. This differentiation is critical to understanding the complex workings of heat management in materials subjected to the harsh conditions of a fusion reactor.
SLAC scientist Mianzhen Mo led the research. He said, “The challenge lies in distinguishing the contributions of phonons from electrons in thermal transport. Our paper introduces a state-of-the-art technique that resolves these contributions, revealing how energy is distributed within the material. This technique allowed us to precisely measure the interactions between electrons and phonons in tungsten, providing us with insights that were previously out of reach.”
The study found that in tungsten, the interaction between phonons themselves is much weaker than expected. This weak phonon-phonon interaction indicates that tungsten can conduct heat more efficiently than previously thought.
Alfredo Correa is a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and a collaborator in the research. He said, “Our findings are particularly relevant for designing new, more robust materials for fusion reactors. Such precise experiments provide excellent validation for the new simulation technique we employed in this work to describe heat transport and the microscopic motions of atoms and electrons, allowing us to predict how materials will behave under extreme environments.”
In the future, the team plans to investigate the impact of impurities, such as helium, on tungsten’s ability to handle heat. Helium accumulation is a product of fusion neutron-induced transmutation in materials. This can affect the material’s performance and longevity.
Mo said, “The next phase of our research will explore how helium and other impurities impact tungsten’s ability to conduct heat. This is crucial for improving the lifespan and efficiency of fusion reactor materials.”
Understanding the details of these interactions is critical for validating fundamental modeling and developing materials that can withstand the rigorous demands of a fusion reactor over time. This could lead to even better materials for not just fusion reactors but also in other fields where managing heat is critical. Such applications range from aerospace to the automotive industry to electronics.
Glenzer said, “This research is not just about improving materials for fusion reactors; it’s about leveraging our understanding of phonon dynamics to revolutionize how we manage heat in a wide range of applications. We’re not just enhancing our understanding of how materials behave under extreme conditions; we’re laying the groundwork for a future where clean, sustainable fusion energy could be a reality.”
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Transformer fires trigger emergency shutdown of Waterford 3 nuclear plant nola.com
Ambient office = 130 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 129 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 136 nanosieverts per hour
Crimini mushroom from Central Market = 88 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 67 nanosieverts per hour
Part 1 of 2 Parts
In the pursuit of clean and endless energy, nuclear fusion is a promising option. In fusion reactors, scientists attempt to make energy by fusing atoms together. They are trying to mimic the sun’s power generation process where things can get extremely hot. To deal with this, researchers have been diving deep into the science of heat management. Their focus is on a special metal called tungsten.
Tungsten is a chemical element; it has symbol “W” and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include scheelite and wolframite, the latter lending the element its alternative name.
Tungsten occurs in many alloys, which have numerous applications, including incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, electrodes in gas tungsten arc welding, superalloys, and radiation shielding. Tungsten’s hardness and high density make it suitable for military applications in penetrating projectiles. Tungsten compounds are often used as industrial catalysts.
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are leading new research into tungsten. Their research highlights tungsten’s potential to significantly improve fusion reactor technology based on new findings about its ability to conduct heat. It is hoped that this advancement could accelerate the development of more efficient and resilient fusion reactor materials. Their results were published today in Science Advances.
Siegfried Glenzer is a director of the High Energy Density Division at SLAC and a collaborator in the new research. He said, “What excites us is the potential of our findings to influence the design of artificial materials for fusion and other energy applications. Our work demonstrates the capability to probe materials at the atomic scale, providing valuable data for further research and development.”
Tungsten is very strong, can handle incredibly high temperatures, and doesn’t get warped or weakened by heat waves as much as some other metals. This makes it especially effective at conducting heat away quickly and efficiently. This is exactly what’s needed in the super-hot conditions of a fusion reactor. Rapid heat loading of tungsten and its alloys is also found in many aerospace applications. These include rocket engine nozzles, heat shields and turbine blade coatings.
Understanding how tungsten works with heat offers hints on how to make new materials for fusion reactors that will be even better at keeping cool under pressure. In this research, the scientists developed a new way to closely examine the details of how tungsten manages heat at the atomic level.
In physics, a phonon is a collective excitation in a periodic, elastic arrangement of atoms of molecules in condensed matter, specifically in solids and some liquids. A type of quasiparticle, a phonon is an excited state in the quantum mechanical quantization of the modes of vibrations for elastic structures of interacting particles. Phonons can be thought of as quantized sound waves, similar to photons as quantized light waves.
The study of phonons is an important part of condensed matter physics. They play a major role in many of the physical properties of condensed matter systems, such as thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, as well as in models of neutron scattering and related effects.
Please read Part 2 next
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Sellafield’s head of information security to step down theguardian.com
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Iraq, Russia discuss developing nuclear energy for peaceful uses iraqinews.com
Ambient office = 126 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 129 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 129 nanosieverts per hour
Ginger root from Central Market = 87 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Longview Fusion Energy Systems has contracted U.S. engineering and construction firm Fluor Corporation to design the world’s first commercial laser fusion power plant.
Longview said, “Fluor will leverage its global experience in developing and constructing complex, large-scale facilities to provide preliminary design and engineering to support the development of Longview’s fusion-powered plant.”
Longview noted that, unlike other approaches, it does not need to build a physics demonstration facility, and, with its partner Fluor, “can focus on designing and building the world’s first laser fusion energy plant to power communities and businesses”.
The historic breakthroughs in fusion energy gain at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) have enabled their project.
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus. A huge amount of energy is released during fusion. LLNL has been pursuing the use of lasers to induce fusion in a laboratory setting since the 1960s. They built a series of increasingly powerful laser systems at the California lab and created the National Ignition Facility (NIF), described as the world’s largest and most energetic laser system. The NIF uses high-power laser beams to create temperatures and pressures similar to those found in the cores of stars and giant planets – and inside nuclear explosions.
On 5 December of 2022, the NIF achieved the first ever controlled experiment to produce more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive the reaction. The experiment utilized one hundred and ninety-two laser beams to deliver more than two million joules of ultraviolet energy to a deuterium-tritium fuel pellet to create so-called fusion ignition – also referred to as scientific energy breakeven. In achieving an output of three point one five megajoules of fusion energy from the delivery of two point zero five megajoules to the fuel target. The experiment demonstrated the fundamental science basis for inertial confinement fusion energy (IFE) for the first time.
Longview says it is the only fusion energy company using this verified approach. Its power plant designs include commercially available technologies from the semiconductor and other industries. Longview says that this is to ensure the delivery of carbon-free, safe, and economical laser fusion energy to the marketplace within a decade.
Valerie Roberts is Longview’s Chief Operating Officer and former National Ignition Facility construction/project manager. She said, “We are building on the success of the NIF, but the Longview plant will use today’s far more efficient and powerful lasers and utilize additive manufacturing and optimization through AI.”
Edward Moses is Longview’s CEO and former director of the NIF. He added, “Laser fusion energy gain has been demonstrated many times over the last 15 months, and the scientific community has verified these successes. Now is the time to focus on making this new carbon-free, safe, and abundant energy source available to the nation as soon as possible.”
In April of 2023, Fluor signed a memorandum of understanding with Longview to be its engineering and construction collaborator in designing and planning laser fusion energy commercialization.
Longview’s plan is for the development of laser fusion power plants. They will have the capacity of up to sixteen hundred MW to provide electricity or industrial production of hydrogen fuel and other materials that can help to decarbonize heavy industry.
Iranian Cleric Calls For Nuclear Arms iranintl.com
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Kenya agency outlines nuclear development strategy world-nuclear-news.org
Ambient office = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 143 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 151 nanosieverts per hour
Green onion from Central Market = 131 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour
