/r/nuclear

Photograph via snooOG

Focus on peaceful use of nuclear energy tech, economics, news, and climate change.


The Nuclear Reddit

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity, in 2012. In 2013, the IAEA report that there are 437 operational nuclear power reactors (although not all are producing electricity), in 31 countries. More than 150 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been constructed.

Wikipedia: nuclear


RULES

1) Do not encourage/show dangerous DIY methods.

Do not ever post content that shows or encourages users to attempt "at-home" or "DIY methods of obtaining, using, or creating radioactive or other harmful chemicals.

This results in a week long ban the first time with removal of content, and an instantaneous permanent ban the second.

2) Do not violate Reddit's Content Policy.

3) Address the argument, not the person.

Any use of prejudice/discrimination directly against a user (racism, etc) is not acceptable and will result in an immediate ban.

4) Do not make false claims against another user.

Any use of unprovoked ad-hom attacks or accusations to discredit the user will be met with a ban. We do not support arguments that devolve into trying to discredit the other. Keep the conversation about the facts/articles provided in discussion.

5) Do not re-post content.

All content that has already been posted in the past will be removed immediately.

More than 3 offenses results in a ban.

6) Do not post click-bait that fails to source.

Any content posted that fails to source any portion of the article will be subject to removal.

Continuing this practice will result in a talk with the user, with failed adherence afterwards resulting in a ban.

7) Do not spam articles or comments.

Whether pro-nuclear or not, we do not appreciate constant spamming of articles or comments on this sub.

8) Nuclear/renewables fighting

Posts encouraging or highlighting competition between nuclear and renewables are discouraged. Posts calling for the elimination of renewables will be removed. Note this applies to posts and not comments. Comments are more opinion and not considered a sanctioned message of the subreddit.


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Non-Reddit Sites of Note

/r/nuclear

33,598 Subscribers

4

[META] We don't ban people for difference of opinion here, do we?

Unlike some other subs.

So, why is this guy banned here?

https://www.reddit.com/r/uninsurable/comments/13xu919/fukushima_cleanup_banned_from_rnuclear_for_asking/

I think we're better than that, and although r/banned_from_energy isn't really a place for discussion of nuclear energy, I don't think he should be banned for offtopic.

However, since his post in banned_from_energy is still up, I don't think he's banned, this seems like some reddit bug or weirdness.

What's happening?

2 Comments
2023/06/01
22:07 UTC

46

Infuriating to see such public disapproval of nuclear energy

11 Comments
2023/06/01
17:03 UTC

48

Oliver Stone Pushes Back Against Fears Over Nuclear Power

6 Comments
2023/05/31
21:29 UTC

2

US urged not to use bomb-grade uranium in nuclear power experiment

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-urged-not-use-bomb-grade-uranium-nuclear-power-experiment-2023-05-30/

The letter : https://sites.utexas.edu/nppp/files/2023/05/MCRE-group-letter-2023-May-FINAL.pdf

Old guard PAID anti nukes propagandists like Ed Lyman , Allison Macfarlane and Frank von Hippel create so much noise because of a very small 400 KWTh MSR research reactor . Also "The damage to national security could exceed any potential benefit from this highly speculative energy technology," WHAT ???

8 Comments
2023/05/31
17:15 UTC

13

How do liquid sodium cooled reactors maintain an inert gas layer to prevent sodium fires while doing things that require opening hatches in the top like changing fuel?

Reactors like the EBR 2, Monju, Superphenix, BN series, etc.

Metallic sodium lights on fire and even explodes on contact with air and water. Therefore these reactors have to maintain a layer of an inert gas between the liquid, metallic sodium and air to prevent fires.

How does it stay in place when doing things that require opening hatches in the top? Wouldn't the inert gas have low density from the heat? When a hatch opens up in the top of a reactor the hot inert gas should rush out and cooler, higher density air with oxygen in it should rush in and start a fire.

How does that not happen?

18 Comments
2023/05/31
14:32 UTC

72

From “Energy: A Human History” by Richard Rhodes, pg 336

I think most everyone here is already on the same page (no pun intended, but this is an excellent book), but I’ve not seen it so succinctly summarized.

12 Comments
2023/05/29
07:42 UTC

17

Is electrical engineering a good choice for jobs in nuclear?

My school does not offer Nuclear Engineering or Chemical Engineering. So, the closest thing I guess would be electrical engineering.

How likely is it for an electrical engineer to get a job designing reactors?

For context, I am located in Canada.

18 Comments
2023/05/29
01:56 UTC

1

Recommendations for summer study?

I’m transferring to OSU’s nuclear engineering program in August, I’ve got John Lamarsh’s textbook and am thinking of going through that and picking some interesting problems to try out. Right now I don’t really know where I want to land in terms of specialization, but I want to use this time to start getting a feel for the different points of focus in the field. Anyone have any suggestions of papers, videos, etc that would be good supplementally? Was there anything you found really foundational in your nuke education that you kept coming back to? Thanks in advance! ☮️☢️

2 Comments
2023/05/26
23:14 UTC

1

Do you know of any universities studying nuclear propulsion for spacecraft?

Nuclear Thermal, Nuclear Electrical, and hybrid propulsion systems. I love it. Nuclear has as much potential in space that it does right here. I have an undergrad in aerospace engineering, and space propulsion is specifically what I am interested in, a high GRE score and a GI Bill to pay for it all. Thanks!

3 Comments
2023/05/26
16:08 UTC

193

The Energy Crisis

11 Comments
2023/05/26
15:08 UTC

12

Recently, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) placed a reporting saying that a highly firmed renewables grid is more economically viable than nuclear for Australia. How true is this?

(All views are my own)
Greetings everyone,

Recently, the CSIRO published the GenCost 2022-2023: the cost of electricity generation report addressing various proposed power sources such as fossil fuels, firmed renewables, and nuclear. A summary for the report's views on nuclear generation can be found here.

The summary states that "nuclear power does not currently provide an economically competitive solution in Australia" and that "the opportunity for the technology to play a serious role in emissions reduction for Australia is fast running out. "

While CSIRO is undoubtedly a highly reputable institution, I can't help but think this analysis is flawed because a variable renewable uptake in a large country has never been done to this scale. There are also the costs of regular replacement of renewable infrastructure and the need to build new transmission and distribution networks to accommodate renewables.

18 Comments
2023/05/26
12:28 UTC

94

This is why pushing for renewables *instead of* nuclear won't stop climate change

https://preview.redd.it/huuh2dqbc52b1.png?width=3400&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=07ade67a2a13034f1ac9657e2bce19cbf59d29dc

I'm sure this is old news to most people here, but it's certainly vindicating seeing such a simple graph explaining why the clean energy share of global electricity production has been mostly stagnant for decades, despite massive investment in renewables. Almost all the increase in renewable generation capacity has gone directly into replacing nuclear, another form of clean energy, instead of replacing fossil fuels. Anti-nuclear environmentalism is essentially aiming the gun back on your own ranks before firing on the enemy, just so you get all the glory for winning the battle. Data like this puts on clear display just how essential continued investment in nuclear energy is to effectively decrease the share of fossil fuels in the energy mix. Somehow, I don't think a lot of 100% renewable advocates consider this point.

Here is the link to the source of this graph, among others.

44 Comments
2023/05/26
09:58 UTC

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