Re: OT - Oil Bashing

On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 16:32:19 GMT, Rich256 <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Agree. The one I had great hopes for was the fusion. As Neon John says
it really appears impossible to control. Just can't keep the darn thing
going. The selling point was that it can't run away and the byproducts
are not difficult to handle. Problem is that it can't even keep the
reaction going long enough to reach the break even point.

Billions have been spend and now the latest attempt is being made in
France. And note that even there the environmentalists are blowing off
steam about something they don't understand:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4629239.stm

I'm sure glad this version of scientific welfare is happening in
Europe so we don't have to foot the bill. The best thing I can say
about it is that it'll keep some scientists off the street for awhile.

They say:
"However, some environmental groups are doubtful about the viability of
nuclear fusion, and have warned that Cadarache lies on a known
earthquake faultline."

Those guys are so predictable. For many of 'em, environmentalism is
their religion and just like other religious zealots, they chant
things that they don't have a clue about.

I enjoy engaging the few enviros who are capable of independent
thought AND can do math. I can quickly show that no form of
"renewable" (their definition, at least) energy will scale to supply
even a fraction of the nation's needs, particularly if transportation
is factored in.

The ultimate renewable source is, of course, nuclear fission in the
breeder configuration. A breeder can convert U or cheap-as-dirt Th
into fuel while making power to boot.

If the loop were closed like the enviro-whackos claim to want with
other impractical energy sources, then every part of the cycle would
be used. Fuel would be generated, the radiation (now a waste product
converted to heat in the shielding) would be used for material
conversion (cross-linking polymers, etc) and the fission products,
particularly the pure beta emitters like Sr-90 would be used for heat,
say, district or neighborhood heating plants supplying hot water for
comfort heat to residents. Concentrated Sr-90 generates enough decay
heat to glow red hot while emitting only a beta particle stopped by
less than an inch of a low-Z material like polyethylene. Waste heat
from power generation would be used for things like greenhouse heating
and low quality process heat.

The Midland plant was to do the last part. It was designed to supply
high temperature steam to the Dow chemical plant across the river. My
company re-designed the radiation monitors that watched the steam for
contamination. Dow backed out during the midst of the anti-nuke
hysteria following TMI and Consumer Power canceled the plant after
they lost their steam customer.

Right now a nuke plant (or any single cycle steam plant) throws away
about 2/3rds of the heat generated, a fundamental thermodynamic
limitation imposed by the temperatures the materials can withstand.
Co-located manufacturing plants that can use much lower grade heat
could take advantage of some of that waste heat. Many processes can
use hot water in the 180 degree range. Supplying that grade of hot
water at thousands of gallons a minute would require nothing more than
changing some setpoints in the nuclear plant.

All that's lacking is the political leadership to say "just do it".

John
---
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.johngsbbq.com
Cleveland, Occupied TN
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
.

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