Why are trains no longer streamlined ?

[Bicycle Bob]

Where are the proven, economically viable reactors? France never got the Super Phenix running. Without re-processing the amount of uranium available is barely significant, except as a legacy of biohazards, and with it, we need a police state to keep it contained initially. My neighborhood has been getting softened up for nuclear installations for years, but their proposals don't stand scrutiny, so they extend bribes all the way down to "goodwill" scholarships. Meanwhile, Yucca Mtn. is yet another failed attempt at waste storage, and even the safest by-product of the industry, depleted uranium, is a public health disaster (among others) in Iraq.

[Big Dave]

Yucca Mountain failed? When was it tried?

The US has extensive reprocessing facilities at Hanford and Oak Ridge. They've been there since the 1940s. Thet quit reprocessing fuel rods because of the coward, Jimmy Carter.

Super Phenix runs - in short bursts. It just does not make electricty any more. It does not make electricity due to a court decision, not because of any problems inherent to the reactor. The cause of the shutdown was not defective hardware but a gullible judge. Now it runs to convert U-238 to Pu-239. It runs about a month at a time then spends a month moving fuel rods and U-238 shielding around in order to maximize yield of fissile material.

The US ran a fast breeder for 25 years without incident. Fast breeders are not run much today because yellowcake is relatively cheap and inthe 90s the US bought up a lot of plutonium from the former Soviet Union, so the US has plenty of MOX fuel.

The idea of Yucca Mountain was never a final repository but rather a "plutonium mine" where reprocessable fuel rods can be stashed until the economics favor reprocessing once again.

As for the depleted uranium, the prevention strategy is clear: Don't mess with the US.

Actually, depleted uranium is just U-238 with zero U-235 in it. Granite statues have a lot of uranium in them.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Where are the proven, economically viable reactors?

Here's a link to a map of the US ones: NRC: Find Operating Nuclear Power Reactors by Location or Name Took about 15 seconds to find with Google.

Meanwhile, Yucca Mtn. is yet another failed attempt at waste storage...

As already pointed out, not "failed" because it's never been used, thanks to the political & legal tactics of the "we get our science from comic books" crowd.

...and even the safest by-product of the industry, depleted uranium, is a public health disaster (among others) in Iraq.

Guess what? Load just about anything into artillery shells - even the silicon that goes into solar panels, or the aluminium & composites that wind turbine blades are made of - and shoot them at people, and it's going to have health consequences for those on the receiving end. That's the effing POINT!

[MetroMPG]

Call me cynical, but does anyone debating nuclear power issues in this "train" thread (hint, hint) really think they're going to change anyone's entrenched positions? Sheesh. Can we stick to vehicle efficiency please?

[Bicycle Bob]

I was writing for the benefit of the casual reader, rather than the debaters, but was already thinking of how to gracefully end an OT excursion.

"There is no way of proving your point to someone
whose income and position
depend upon believing the contrary."

- Sydney Harris

[MetroMPG]

Great quote, graceful disentanglement - thanks, Bob.

[almightybmw]

Yeay! Back to Aero-training!




....... we've got nothing to talk about now.

[aerohead]

I just posted a new thread for train aero.Things got a bit off-topic here,hope you all don't mind.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

"There is no way of proving your point to someone whose income and position depend upon believing the contrary." - Sydney Harris

And how exactly is that relevant? Or are you suggesting that some of us here derive income from some aspect of nuclear power? Not true* in my case.

*OK, I have investments in mutual funds, and I don't keep track of exactly what companies they invest in, so there might conceivably be a few dollars.

[Big Dave]

Sorry about the hijack, but I've always subscribed to the notion that "silence is assent."