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.
Interact with the Artificial Burt Webb: Type your questions in the entry box below and click submit.
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 = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Blueberry from Central Market = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Part 1 of 3 Parts
The bustling city of Shanghai marks national celebrations with world-famous light shows, illuminating its skyscrapers with dazzling colors, like beacons of Chinese innovation.
It is here that scientists and engineers work tirelessly to pursue the next big thing in global tech, from 6G internet and advanced AI to next-generation robotics. It is also here, on an unassuming downtown street, a new small start-up called Energy Singularity (ES) is working on something extraordinary. ES has entered the hot field of nuclear fusion energy research.
U.S. companies and industry experts are concerned that America is losing its decades-long lead in the race to master this near-limitless form of clean energy. New fusion companies sprout across China, and Beijing outspends D.C.
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and other stars. It is extremely difficult to replicate on Earth. Many countries have achieved fusion reactions. However, sustaining them for long enough to use in the real world remains elusive. Mastering nuclear fusion is an enticing prospect that promises wealth and global influence to whichever nation tames it first.
The most important aspect of fusion energy is its sheer efficiency. A controlled fusion reaction releases around four million times more energy than burning coal, oil or gas. It is also four times more efficient than nuclear fission, the kind of nuclear energy used today. It won’t be developed in time to fight climate change in this crucial decade. However, it could be the solution to future warming.
Jean Paul Allain leads the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. He said that the Chinese government is pouring money into the venture, putting one billion to one and a half billion dollars annually into fusion. In comparison, the Biden administration has funded fusion research with around eight hundred million dollars a year. Allain added, “To me, what’s more important than the number, it’s actually how fast they’re doing this”.
Private companies in both countries are optimistic, saying they can get fusion power on the grid by the mid-2030s. However, enormous technical challenges still remain.
The U.S. was among the world’s first country to move on fusion research in earnest since the early 1950s. China’s entry into fusion research came later that decade. More recently, the pace of fusion research has accelerated. Since 2015, China’s fusion patents have surged, Now it has more patents than any other country, according to industry data published by Nikkei.
Energy Singularity, the start-up in Shanghai, is one example of China’s accelerating fusion research. It built its own tokamak in the three years since it was established, which is faster than any comparable reactor that has ever been built. A tokamak is a highly complex cylindrical or donut-shaped machine that subjects hydrogen to extreme temperatures and pressures, forming a soup-like plasma in which the nuclear fusion reaction occurs.
For a fledgling company working on one of the world’s most difficult physics challenges, ES is incredibly optimistic, and it has reason to be. It has received more than one hundred and twelve million dollars in private investment. It has also achieved a world first. Its current tokamak is the only one in the world to have used advanced magnets in a plasma experiment.
Please read Part 2 next
Framatome, ČEZ to collaborate on VVER-1000 fuel development world-nuclear-news.com
Biden says he does not support attack on Iran’s nuclear sites English.alarabiya.net
Will Israel strike Iran’s nuclear sites? Hear what expert thinks cnn.com
Japan to Keep Nuclear, Boost Renewables in Its Energy Mix usnews.com
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Beefsteak tomato from Central Market = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
No imminent nuclear threat from Russia, says new Nato chief bbc.com
Newcleo focuses on Europe with HQ move from UK to France world-nuclear-news.org
New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank, U.S. official says cbsnews.com
Australia’s OPAL reactor restarts after upgrade world-nuclear-news.org
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Avocado from Central Market = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Michigan nuclear plant will restart to deliver new power to rural communities scrippsnews.com
Data center owners turn to nuclear as potential electricity source ajot.com
Muroosystems completes purchase of Nukem Technologies world-nuclear-news.org
Hurricane Helene Floods Closed Duke Nuclear Plant in Florida finance.yahoo.com
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
White onion from Central Market = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Dover Sole from Central = 112 nanosieverts per hour
Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
On the question about key measures needed to pave the way to capacity expansion, Schucht of Urenco emphasized that politicians need to continue “to translate the political momentum into political actions, and that’s not only about legislation, finding solutions, but also giving long-term guidance to the market, to the industry. We all make decisions that will operate for the next forty, fifty, sixty or seventy years” which is difficult if “you always have the fear that the next government is taking opposite political decisions”.
Gabi Schneider is the executive director of the Namibian Uranium Institute. She said, “during the period of low uranium price, companies active in Namibia rather used the opportunity, the time that was available to work on their programs. There was many a drilling campaign to increase the resource space … so as a result, now with the situation where the price has reached a level where many projects can come to fruition, all of this work was already done”. She noted that her “optimistic outlook” was that if all projects come to fruition, “Namibia will not be able to triple its output, but to more than double the output”.
In response to the question of what the most important thing is that needs to happen to facilitate a tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050, she stated that from an African perspective “I think to reach this goal, we need a lot of uranium. So we need to find a lot more uranium deposits. I think we need a lot more exploration, so it is up to individual countries to put a conducive environment in place … legal, infrastructure and all the other issues that are required to build world class uranium mines”.
Amir Adnani is the CEO of the Uranium Energy Corporation. He said that although it was starting from a low base the U.S. was currently the “fastest growing jurisdiction for uranium exploration and mining in the world” with potential production growth “to twenty to twenty-five million pounds per year within five years”. He added that “We’re seeing this unprecedented need for new suppliers to emerge in our industry. If we’re going to truly have the foundations for a global, robust industry it starts with uranium … historically, in the 1980s the U.S.-led the world in uranium production … so this is not a lost art and science. The regulatory framework exists … we have very understanding capital markets in North America that understand this business … and this unbelievable bipartisan support”.
He compared his company’s strategy during the bear market to someone buying Christmas decorations for the following year in the January sales. He emphasized that, irrespective of geopolitics, “there has to be a robust domestic answer as well to the fuel cycle – we can’t be importing everything” and praised government initiatives in the U.S. which have “levelled the playing field with renewables”, with respect to the subsidies that are available.
One dominant theme at the conferences is what has been referred to as the chicken and egg problem. Developers of uranium assets need to know that there will be a reliable market for their production. On the other hand, developers of nuclear reactors need to know that there will be fuel available for the reactors they are constructing.
Kim’s North Korea ‘Will Never Give Up’ Nuclear Weapons: State Media newsweek.com
Westinghouse Announces Creation of New Business Units to Support Global Nuclear Operating Fleet businesswire.com
Western Nations Warn Iran: Intervention in Lebanon Could Trigger Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites Haaretz.com
Poll finds majority of Swiss support nuclear new build world-nuclear-news.org
