Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Atomicrod visits Dot Net Rocks to chat with Carl and Richard

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On January 18, I joined Carl and Richard, the hosts of Dot Net Rocks, for an hour long conversation about nuclear energy. We spanned a number of topics including current light water reactors, breeder reactors, accidents, safety records, SL-1, NR-1, Mars Rover, pebble beds, IFR, and traveling wave reactors.

Please go visit and listen.

http://dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=844

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Comments

  1. Thanks for taking time to be their nuclear “Big Gun”.

    Another small step towards getting your invite from CNN someday to match wits with Machio Kaku. The professor would be well advised not to bring a solar knife to a nuclear gunfight.

  2. The only caveat I have regarding the interview was that you could hear in the guys’ voices the bated breath to slam you with far more deeper and pointed questions about reactor mishaps and issues and evacuations, especially when they’re spitting distance of besieged Indian Point. It was strange they didn’t bring up exactly what happened at TMI and Fukushima which is the silent 800-pound gorilla in the room when talking about nuclear energy nowadays (maybe just being kind to a guest), and it’d be very interesting to hear the listener feedback their talk show receives from that. I liked it when you brought up the single long-ago mortality score of U.S. nuclear plants and one of them asks “can you really say that??”. It would’ve been fun to point out to the audience how many routinely die in the operation of oil and gas plants even outside accidents and the entire neighborhoods they somethings flatten when they have one (like just mentioning it really wouldn’t hurt). Unfortunately not many of the public have that kind of perspective; when some of them heard you mention that single fatality I bet they jumped up and said “See?? Nuclear’s killed people! Shut ’em all down!!” That would be comical weren’t that kind of logic the main driver of the anti-nuclear movement. I hope to hear an Atomic Show roundtable of your nuclear blog peers discussing and dealing with the media’s handling of nuclear issues and the lack of fairness and science education in most reporters in particular. Aside, I wonder if a nuclear blog reader letter-campaign to the mass media would get you in as a legit consultant to balance off the contagious presence of Kaku.

    James Greenidge