Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
 |
Comments on Hyperion Power Module Neighborhood Nuclear Reactor
The story about small 'nuclear batteries,' small plants that produce enough power for small towns or big neighborhoods, just keeps coming back. (Read
the complete story)
| "I'm also fascinated by the idea that a nuclear power source could be reduced to an arbitrarily small size to power any kind of device. You may recall the pocket nucleo bulb from Asimov's 1951 novel Foundation. More recently, the Rat Thing from Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash also has a tiny nuclear power source (thanks to Jerry for also pointing that one out)." (Bill Christensen 11/11/2008 9:33:39 AM) |
| "If "Silent Spring" is the case against the Hyperion Power Module, I'm all for it. Because in a nutshell "Silent Spring" is crap. By getting DDT banned completely, "Silent Spring" and it's author Rachel Carson, are responsible for millions of Third World deaths from Malaria." (AJ Dual 11/11/2008 1:51:35 PM) |
| "If I recall correctly, "Silent Spring" relied on a clinical study showing that DDT was a carcinogen. A study that later (too late) was shown to be a fraud. What I don't remember is what exactly was wrong with it. I think it was either a preliminary study published as "conclusive evidence" or a study that was exaggerated to get the expected results. In any case, it was found that those results were impossible to replicate, invalidating everything." ( 11/11/2008 3:55:27 PM) |
| "My purpose in using 'Silent Spring' was to focus on people who are concerned on environmental contaminants as opposed to people who see nuclear power as a viable option. I don't want to go into the whole Rachel Carson matter, other than to note that she never personally pushed for a ban on DDT, and that she wrote "No responsible person contends that insect-borne disease should be ignored. The question that has now urgently presented itself is whether it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse... Practical advice should be 'Spray as little as you possibly can' rather than 'Spray to the limit of your capacity.'" Take a look at the Wikipedia article on DDT, which notes that "DDT has lost much of its effectiveness in many parts of the world including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Turkey and Central America, and it has largely been replaced." Anyway, this is all off topic! My real interest in small sources of electricity is that my neighborhood constantly loses power due to the fact that people in surrounding neighborhoods won't give up their decorative trees (which fall on power lines). I want my own neighborhood power supply!" (Bill Christensen 11/11/2008 7:16:07 PM) |
| "I have to say that this would be very, very impressive...but having to get a new one every 7 to 10 years is a pretty pricey proposition. Plus, no matter how safe everyone says it is, or how safe it is proven to be, people are simply too scared to put a nuke plant anywhere near their homes.
I find that people have a distressing tendency to fight against survival oriented behaviors, and to pull for counter-productive behaviors like spraying large amounts of DDT." ( 11/12/2008 7:48:54 PM) |
| "American homes hardly use 3 times the energy of homes elsewhere, excepting developing countries or Japan, where 400 square foot houses are the rule. Get your slander straight, please. As for the desire for "renewab;e" energy sources, I might point out that coal, oil and natural gas are all "renewable, sustainable" and also that renewable, sustainable energy sources like biomass
will do nothing to reduce carbon emissions, quite unlike nuclear power, which also has none of the unsavory side effects of wind,
solar or anytechnology that is not dispatchable - they ALL result in extensive extra emissions from the (almost always) fossil generators that must "chase" the crappy renewable inputs
to the grid. Nor is the fact that nucelar is not sustaninable of any importance whatsoever. By the time a nuclear plant is decommissioned (in 60 or more years), those "sustainable" power geenrators like wind/solar will have been replaced three times. And the supply ofnuclear ore will probably never run out - increases in its cost (fuel costs are still trivial at less than .5 cents per kilowatthpour) will result in another doubling of feasible reserves, or another 100 years of fuel. Now what, exactly, was you point about "sustainable" power generation? " (Kerry Bradshaw 1/21/2009 1:20:24 PM) |
| "what every one has forgotten is that you have to have a license to have a nucler power plant of any type at all it would not matter what size or power output or type you would still have to be traind to handle fissionable materials" (Christopher Thomas 2/22/2010 6:57:04 PM) |
Get more information on Hyperion Power Module Neighborhood Nuclear Reactor
Leave a comment:
Please send your comments to @technovelgy and I'll post them. Thanks!
More Articles
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
