Let's hear it for nuclear power

[tblaxland]

And what does the use of uranium for other purposes have to do with nuclear power per se?

And if by-products from the nuclear power plant fuel cycle were not available for weapons construction, wouldn't it be naive to assume that the military would not use the raw materials to make their weapons?

The sooner that big meteorite strike that knocks us back into the stone age the better!

Yes, wiping out the human race is always one solution to the problem :dry:

 

[Biscuit]

...
You see that is the whole problem with humans, (mainly the ones with the Y chromosome), they have to turn EVERYTHING into a weapon cause they are naked predatory apes. Tsk tsk! The sooner that big meteorite strike that knocks us back into the stone age the better!

... and it's amazing how there are so many people that think mankind should be digging in the dirt with a stick for grubs, yet they always fail to lead by example ... and just love to spout that opinion from the comfort of their home, on their computer, built by industry, sold in a free market, using electricity, etc ....

but then, it's everyone else that should be grubbing around ... they are special ... they are elite ... they know better than everyone else and should be the ones leading if only the dumb masses would simply listen to them and be enlightened ...

 

[Urwumpe]

Luckily, it would take us another 60000 years until we would develop swords again, because only very few people know how to make steel without large steel mills.

 

[atuhalpa]

I appologize to the forum for using an adjective that was inappropriate in another post and I also retract my erroneous statement about depleted uranium. I educated myself regarding DU and now understand how it is created. Thanks to those of you who brought this to my attention. Let it also be said that I am not anthropocentric and that I do believe that humankind is NOT the pinnacle of evolution on this planet. Homo Sapiens is just another iteration in the long line of hominids and will eventually pass and another better suited form will dominate.

 

[Andy44]

I appologize to the forum for using an adjective that was inappropriate in another post and I also retract my erroneous statement about depleted uranium. I educated myself regarding DU and now understand how it is created. Thanks to those of you who brought this to my attention. Let it also be said that I am not anthropocentric and that I do believe that humankind is NOT the pinnacle of evolution on this planet. Homo Sapiens is just another iteration in the long line of hominids and will eventually pass and another better suited form will dominate.

Well, good on you for not letting this thread go supercritical...

 

[speedycat]

about the waste if u use nuclear power on spacecraft/stations
why not launch it in space (sun,mercury or maybe jupiter) whit some cheap russian rocket?:speakcool:

 

[Ghostrider]

Meet the Futurekind and Toclafane first, and if you manage to survive we'll talk about it.

 

[Urwumpe]

why not launch it in space (sun,mercury or maybe jupiter) whit some cheap russian rocket?:speakcool:

Launching it into the sun requires about sqrt(11.2² + 29²) km/s velocity at the end of the eject burn. Also we might contaminate the sun that way and make it stop fusion earlier.

Also there are no cheap Russian rockets - Even a Soyuz launcher is only slightly cheaper than a comparable Delta II.

 

[T.Neo]

Also we might contaminate the sun that way and make it stop fusion earlier.

Is that even possible? If so, how?

 

[Moonwalker]

Also we might contaminate the sun that way and make it stop fusion earlier.

And I might be Santa

The sun is big. Really big. When I remember right, it is about 98% the mass of the entire solar system. Although human wishful thinking and megalomania might be as big as the sun, we surely won't do anything with the sun in reality. A few human rockets are not even small bagatelles. Even if you contaminate all the planets of the solar system and send it to the sun altogether as a gigantic bomb, it still will be nothing more than a needlestick.

 

[Ghostrider]

Also we might contaminate the sun that way and make it stop fusion earlier.

Maybe 1 quadrillionth second earlier, unless we use a Gamilas proton missile.

 

[Urwumpe]

Yes, the sun is big, but you just need to dump something heavier than iron into it and fusion processes are getting suppressed (The amount of metal inside the sun is called metallicity). Also, it moves the zone of fusion further outward, so it can grow to a red giant earlier.

The question is not that it is possible, but how much metal is needed. Sure not 1 ton. But what about 10000 tons?

 

[T.Neo]

Point taken.

But I doubt adding that amount of mass (or even all the waste that could be produced via all the fissionable material on Earth) would shorten the lifetime of the sun via any meaningful amount.

The sun is big. No doubt adding a grain of salt to the ocean will increase it's salinity, but it sure won't cause the extinction of entire stocks of fish.

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, many small amounts of trash are a lot.

 

[Moonwalker]

Well, many small amounts of trash are a lot.

Not comared to the sun

The sun will only have a weary smile even if we put all amounts of trash together and everything heavier than iron we can find on any planet within the solar system. We and the little planets are nothing more than tiny remains of the evolution of the solar system, which is probably even less than 0,1% the mass of the sun.

Humans do believe in a lot of things. And who knows, maybe this causes an IPFC in future (Ingovernmental Panel on Fusion Change):rofl:

 

[T.Neo]

Well, many small amounts of trash are a lot.

Of course- the question is if it will affect the sun in any noticable manner.

It's very little mass compared to the total mass of the sun, so I doubt it would have much of an effect. But then again, we might not fully understand the mechanisms at work inside Sol, and dumping nuclear waste could have odd, unexpected effects.

Perhaps a better way of disposing of nuclear waste, would be to disperse it in interplanetary space using nukes (the explosive kind, not the power-generating kind. ). The material would thin out, so that whatever hit spacecraft and planets would be down to acceptable levels.

After all, space has a lot of radiation anyway...

That or burying it under tons of rock on Mercury.

 

[pattersoncr]

Considering that 95% of nuclear "waste" is actually fuel and the remainder becomes less radioactive than the ore it came from after 500yrs, I can't imagine a less efficient way to deal with it.

 

[Andy44]

Meet the Futurekind and Toclafane first, and if you manage to survive we'll talk about it.

How about the Saurons? Or maybe the Neo Sapiens?

Also we might contaminate the sun that way and make it stop fusion earlier.

Okay, now you're just messin' with us.

Considering that 95% of nuclear "waste" is actually fuel and the remainder becomes less radioactive than the ore it came from after 500yrs, I can't imagine a less efficient way to deal with it.

I believe that is the case. The whole discussion about disposing of waste by rocketing it off somewhere is moot.

 

[Urwumpe]

Okay, now you're just messin' with us.

Of course, I do, but in a rather satirical way. :lol:

To say it with the tongue of JFK: I take pride in knowing that if there is a species, that could choke their own star with their waste, it is us.

 

[Ghostrider]

I take pride in knowing that if there is a species, that could choke their own star with their waste, it is us.

Please, don't give Homer J. Simpson any more ideas...