It’s the birthday of Italian-born physicist Enrico Fermi, instrumental in creating the atomic bomb in the mid-20th Century. When WWII was over and he had a chance to reflect on all this, he wrote:
Category: Nuclear
Relatively Speaking
As noted in the Writer’s Almanac, today is the 114th birthday of the most famous equation known to humankind, E = MC2. We tend to think that the implications of the equivalence of mass and energy are confined to nuclear …
Note on Thorium-Based Nuclear Reactors
One of the chapters of my most recent book, “Bullish on Renewable Energy,” covers the promise of advanced nuclear, and thorium in particular. If we can make this happen, which appears likely over the next couple of decades, it will …
Tagged with: Thorium-based Nuclear Reactors
Nuclear and Renewables Complement One Another
Here’s a pro-nuke video I thought I’d pass along. Lots of truth and a small amount of misinformation–all punctuated with humor that I hope you’ll enjoy. A few points: • As suggested, we need to differentiate between the monetary and the …
Advanced Nuclear Has Promise, But…
An old school chum posted the graphic below, to which I reply: There’s an important difference, however: the one on the right actually exists, and the one on the left doesn’t.
Tagged with: advanced nuclear
Update on Nuclear Fusion
Here’s the latest from nuclear fusion hopeful Tri Alpha Energy, now called TAE. I was introduced to these guys by my friend Jim Boyden, who got his PhD in physics from Cal Tech the same year I entered kindergarten.
Germany’s Energy Conundrum
As noted here: Germany is Europe’s largest economy, and its wealth depends heavily on exporting industrial goods made with cheap electricity.
Germany Replaces Nuclear with Solar and Wind, Maintains Reliance on Coal
For some reason, Germany’s people are terrified of nuclear energy, which is especially weird in that they live right across the Rhine from a country that has generated a huge majority of its energy from nuclear, without incident, for half …
Germany Replaces Nuclear with Solar and Wind, Maintains Reliance on Coal Read More »
The Cost of Anti-Nuclear Sentiments
As a result of the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, the people of Japan are decidedly anti-nuke. Immediately following the incident, all 54 of the other reactors across the country were shut down and tested for safety issues, but, as …
Lots of Good Stuff Happening in Nuclear
Nuclear energy enthusiasts should be happy to see so much research and development going into this space. There are several different directions nuclear seems to be headed, one of which is smaller, modular reactors that can be deployed to provide …
