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.
The Growing Nexus Between Data Centers and Nuclear Power: A New Frontier in Energy and Technology energycentral.com
Korea advances Czech nuclear deal despite Westinghouse challenge neimagazine.com
Russia says UN watchdog must be ‘more objective’ after trip to nuclear plant near fighting reuters.com
NANO Nuclear to set up HQ in Oak Ridge neimagazine.com
Ambient office = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Avocado from Central Market = 85 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 86 nanosieverts per hour
“The world’s demand for energy is growing fast, driven by economic development as well as artificial intelligence, high performance computing, and data center requirements. We need energy that is clean, reliable, and affordable.” Deep Fission website
Nuclear power based on the fission reaction can be clean and reliable, but it has been too expensive and the permitting process and construction take too long. New innovations in nuclear technology have the potential to drive costs down. However, many advanced reactors have supply chain problems. This is especially true with regard to High Assay Low Enriched Uranium called HALEU.
A nuclear energy startup that wants to build reactors a mile underground has announced a four-million-dollar pre-seed funding round.
“Deep Fission’s mission is to provide secure, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy to enable a cleaner and brighter energy future. We are a team of nuclear engineers, physicists, geologists, and environmentalists with experience in nuclear and drilling technologies.” Deep Fission website
Deep Fission claims that by using the natural conditions deep under the earth’s surface it can eliminate the need for the large pressure vessels and containment structures required in traditional pressurized water reactor designs. It says that this will significantly reduce costs while improving safety, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
Based in Berkeley, California, Deep Fission was founded last year by father-daughter team Elizabeth and Richard Muller.
Elizabeth Muller is the Deep Fission CEO. She said, “Climate change has accelerated the need for clean energy, and nuclear must be cheaper in order to compete with coal and natural gas. We’ve innovated beyond other reactor designs and engaged early and often with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make atomic energy a viable option to power AI, industrial applications, as well as remote communities. We cannot wait to share our findings with the world and do our part to help with the clean energy transition”.
Deep Fission utilizes standard pressurized water reactors. Their design is a fifteen-megawatt modular nuclear microreactor. These reactors use conventional low-enriched uranium fuel and an existing supply chain. They can be placed at a depth of one mile in a thirty-inch borehole. This sidesteps a significant source of delay and concern for other advanced reactor designs.
Deep Fission has raised four million dollars in a pre-seed funding round led by 8VC. The money will be used to accelerate efforts in hiring, regulatory approval, and the commercialization of Deep Fission’s reactor technology.
Joe Lonsdale is managing partner at 8VC. “Cheap energy fuels our prosperity and all our technology. With global demand escalating, we need more options. We invested in Deep Fission because they are engineering a way for nuclear power to be exceptionally safe, cost-effective, and reliable – and far enough underground that hopefully neither war nor regulators can turn it off!”
Deep Fission said it has already met “several important milestones”. These include completing a conceptual design, submitting a regulatory engagement plan, submitting a conceptual design white paper, and a attending a conceptual design review meeting with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ambient office = 110 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 111 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 109 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
The rising demand for clean energy around the globe has pushed innovators to explore better alternatives to fossil fuels. A nuclear fusion company with over a decade’s experience is now ready to speed up development of its oxidation-resistant vanadium alloys for fusion breeder blankets in spherical tokamaks.
Tokamak Energy is a private firm. It plans to deliver commercial fusion energy in the 2030s. The company intends to provide a clean, secure, affordable, and readily available energy source for everyone.
The firm has received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) INFUSE award to accelerate its plans. The INFUSE program is focused on accelerating fusion energy development through public-private research partnerships. It involves the expertise and unique resources available at DOE laboratories and universities.
Michael Ginsberg is the president of Tokamak Energy Inc. He said, “Vanadium alloys are the leading candidate materials for breeder blanket structures in fusion power plant designs with flowing liquid lithium. This new project will push our understanding forward on the path to delivering clean and secure commercial fusion in the 2030s.”
Vanadium alloys have great potential as candidate materials for breeder blanket structures breeder in fusion reactor designs, vanadium alloys offer excellent lithium compatibility. These alloys have superior high-temperature mechanical properties when compared to reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steels and other structural materials.
Fusion reactor blanket design activities at Tokamak Energy have shown that a self-cooled liquid lithium blanket without an electrical insulator coating may not be practical due to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop and the resulting parasitic load. A dual-cooled design with helium as the coolant removes the need for an insulator coating and provides a more accessible design point.
Vanadium alloys have not been considered for dual-cooled designs because of concerns with oxidation and embrittlement by the uptake of interstitial atoms including oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, or hydrogen. To facilitate development of a dual-cooled blanket design with liquid Li as the breeder, a vanadium alloy with improved oxidation resistance and equivalent or better mechanical properties compared to the well-studied vanadium alloy V-4Cr-4Ti is required.
It is the ninth INFUSE award granted to Tokamak Energy which is one of eight private companies selected by the (DOE) as part of the U.S.’s ten-year vision for delivering commercial fusion.
Tokamak Energy will be working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Birmingham on the vanadium project. This research could expand the use of these materials, enable new design avenues, enhance safety, and improve plant efficiency.
Jean Paul Allain is the DOE Associate Director of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences. He said, “The INFUSE selections showcase our continuing commitment to the fusion industry in the U.S. and our goal to share widely unique capabilities at national laboratories and U.S. universities. Partnering with businesses and working together is a win-win for our fusion industry, the DOE, and the nation.”
If this research is successful, this project could lead to the development of an advanced vanadium-based alloy with enhanced oxidation resistance. This could possibly expand the use of these materials to more diverse environments, enable new design avenues, enhance safety under accident conditions, and improve plant efficiency.
Biden administration throws cold water on prospect of renewed Iran nuclear talks abcnews.go.com
Westinghouse SMR design accepted for UK review world-nuclear-news.org
Nuclear island components arrive at Tianwan site world-nuclear-news.org
TVA approves further funding for Clinch River SMR world-nuclear-news.org
Ambient office = 116 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Mini cucumber from Central Market = 90 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 84 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient office = 90 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Blueberry from Central Market = 143 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 99 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 84 nanosieverts per hour
