Shane Brown and I have posted episode number 6 of The Atomic Show on The Podcast Network. We talk about enriched fuels, energy efficiency and the life and works of Amory Lovins. Have a listen. If you like what we are doing, please subscribe to the show – there are plenty of ways to do…
The Palm Beach Post published a column by Jac Wilder VerSteeg on March 16, 2006 titled Nuclear power takes on new glow. The columnist talks about a variety of energy sources and their risks and almost reluctantly concludes Like everyone else who remembers Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, I am not blind to the environmental…
Shane and Rod provide a different take on a current debate regarding the use of enriched uranium. There is a notion among a certain kind of politically educated person that the only valid use of enriched uranium is to produce weapons that can be used to assure mutual destruction. Rod and Shane explain that enriched…
Shane and I chat about types of radiation, ways to measure radiation, normal background levels of radiation, the health effects of low level radiation, and the variation in normal background radiation around the world. We talk about tritium exit lights, radium dial watches, cloud chambers, and geiger counters. Have a listen and tell us what…
A number of non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have begun registering their disapproval of a European energy research program that they claim unfairly treats nuclear energy separately and provides an unjustifiably larger budget for that research when compared to all other energy sources. According to an article titled NGOs attack EU nuclear research funding Friends of the…
One of my favorite readers is a high school science teacher from Kansas who blogs at Lone Pony. She recently sent me an email asking for my opinion on some recent articles about Iran. We thought it would be worth sharing the exchange publicly, so here goes. Question One of my concerns is the ignorance…
Shane and I discuss Peak Oil and the ways that nuclear power can help to alleviate the problems that will result if oil production rate peaks without a more capable alternative available. We specifically mention the work of Kenneth Deffeyes, the author of Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert’s Peak. In addition, we discussed certain…
Navin Nayak posted a provocative comment on the Environmental Action Blog titled Why Does the Nuclear Industry Bother? His premise is based on an assertion that nuclear power cannot compete in the energy business without subsidies. While I am not a nuclear industry spokesman and cannot answer the question that he asks for the industry,…
On 9 March 2006, Unistar Nuclear – a joint venture that includes Constellation Energy and Areva – issued a press release announcing the formation of an advisory board that will assist the company in its efforts to build and deploy a fleet of new nuclear power plants in the United States. Here is how Michael…
Shane and Rod talk about nuclear fuel recycling and ways to reduce the amount of waste that nuclear reactors produce. We also talk about the fact that there are rare materials with unique physical properties locked inside the fuel assemblies that have been removed from nuclear fission reactors. With a proper eye towards converting trash…
Several weeks ago, Shane Brown and I began recording a weekly chat about atomic energy topics for The Atomic Show, which is one of a growing line-up of special interest podcasts hosted by The Podcast Network. Here is the way that we describe the show: A couple of atomic geeks chatting about their favorite technology’s…
The Times-Journal (Ft. Payne Alabama) published a story written by Mark Harrison titled Nuclear plan key for jobs on 8 March 2006. The Tennessee Valley Authority and The Southern Company are discussing a partnership arrangement to develop the Bellefonte power plant site with two Westinghouse AP-1000 nuclear reactors. The project could bring as many as…