Nuclear Power Plants

[Gumba Masta]

Say is it true what I've heard about Nuclear Power Plants, that they eat up a significant portion of the electricity that they produce to keep themselfs going effectively making the net gain in electric power not as great as conventional power plants?

[MrBogosity]

Far from it. The LEAST efficient nuclear reactors run at about 45%, which is on par with coal plants. Most of them operate at much higher efficiency levels--and this difference becomes exacerbated in conditions such as heat waves.

[Gumba Masta]

So the main dangers are still just the radioactive waste they produce and the tendency of three headed babies being born around them?

[MrBogosity]

No 3-headed babies. Even in 3-Mile Island, the worst nuclear disaster this country has seen, people didn't get much more than the background radiation they normally do, even the ones who lived right next to it. Astronauts on the ISS get more radiation than that.

The radioactive waste is only a problem because they are prohibited by international treaty from re-enriching it. The reason for this restriction is ZOMG DEY MIGHT SET UP US TEH BOMB OMFG!!!!!1!!11one1one1eleventy-one

Of course, if they can get thorium reactors going, that won't be a problem.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Any ground that could've been made regarding nuclear energy is going to be lost in the fear mongering people will be doing after this accident.

[MrBogosity]

You mean, the meltdown that we don't even know is going to happen yet?

[Travis Retriever]

The costs and dangers of Nuclear Power are both so overstated as to be ridiculous:  http://mises.org/daily/3536
I recall you [Shane] pointing out that if we converted to 100% nuclear energy, while it is true it would only last for about 50 years, who knows what we might have by then?

This reminds me of the discussion on this thread

[MrBogosity]

Not with thorium reactors. There's enough thorium to suit our needs for 1000 years. And they're basically digging it up anyway as they dig up rare earth metals.

[Gumba Masta]

You mean, the meltdown that we don't even know is going to happen yet?

Maybe he ment the meltdown that's currently happening in the region of Japan that was hit by  both a devastating earthquake and tsunami?

[MrBogosity]

There is no meltdown currently happening in Japan. They're afraid that there might be, and they're working hard to pump in water to cool the reactors to prevent it.

And just so everyone knows, this is an old plant. Newer plants don't have to worry about this since they're set up to just use gravity to "pump" in the water instead of electric pumps.

[Gumba Masta]

That's not what I've hear... well it is what I've heard.
But they've been having a bit of a back and forth with that bit of news in the past few days, one day they say the meltdown's happening, then they say it's save, one day it's imminent and then it's not. I suppose having three catastrophies at the same time in the same place isn't really helping to reduce the confusion. If you ask me though, which you don't which is why I answer unasked, if I where there and this was the Fallout universe I'd start popping RAD-X and Rad Away like they were candies.

[MrBogosity]

The news media works by trying to hype up the latest scare or catastrophe.

Really, the only thing you'd have to take if you were there is KI. The explosion was an external explosion, not an explosion of the core. And even then it's more precautionary than anything else.

[Travis Retriever]

Do you think these gov't restrictions might be contributing to number 4 on this list:  http://www.cracked.com/article_19048_6-important-things-you-didnt-know-were-running-out-of.html

[bp_28]

"But first, the most exciting part of the conference: the showcase of new nuclear technologies being developed by various companies. One of the more intriguing designs is Terrapower's traveling wave reactor, a fast reactor that will use depleted uranium as a fuel source. Depleted uranium is now essentially a waste product leftover from producing fuel for conventional reactors. The company signed a memorandum of understanding last year with the China National Nuclear Corporation with the goal of building a 600-megawatt demonstration plant." This is quote from the most recent Reason.com article. This will allow us to use nuclear energy for much longer than 1000 years, right?