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Atomic Insights

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

In the news: September 1995

September 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

Modern Hiroshima Described (August 7, 1995) (Knight-Ridder Newspapers) “This was supposed to have become a dead city, a toxic landscape so contaminated by radiation that nothing green would grow for generations. A nuclear desert – that’s what even some scientists saw in Hiroshima’s future. Instead, today’s Hiroshima is a thriving, flower-planted, ultramodern metropolis of 1-million […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Sept 1995

Rocket Technology Applications: Machines With Limitless Capabilities

September 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

Under any circumstances, there is a very limited market for nuclear rockets. Even if space exploration is raised in the national priority list, the first mission to Mars would probably occur in about 2010. For at least a decade or more after that, trips would probably be infrequent at best. There would be some utility […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Sept 1995, Nuclear Aircraft

An Inside View: How Do Nuclear Rockets Work?

September 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

Nuclear Rocket

Before learning about nuclear rockets, we should take a quick detour to review how conventional rockets work. There is a perception that rockets are fiendishly complex devices that need to be serviced and designed by people whose intelligence is far removed from that of mere mortals. Often, people even use the term “rocket scientist” to […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Sept 1995, Nuclear Aircraft

Letter from the Editor: Confessions of a Stargazer

September 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

I have a confession. I am a science fiction and space travel fanatic. I watched with rapt attention during the “race to the moon” even though I was quite young. I dreamed of being an astronaut, and made several visits to the Kennedy Space Center. My personal library includes a large collection of books by […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Sept 1995, Nuclear Aircraft

U.S. Nuclear Rocket Programs

September 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

The Nuclear Engines for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) program officially began in 1961, when NASA issued a request for proposals and established the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office (SNPO). Various government laboratories had been studying the concept for several years, several contractors were already working on conceptual design, and space was a big topic of interest. […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Sept 1995, Nuclear Aircraft, Technical History Stories

In the news: August 1995

August 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

U.S. discussing MOX with Germans (June 29, 1995) A group of American officials visited the Siemens AG Hanau mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuels plant on June 27th. The officials are in Germany to discuss the use of the facility to manufacture MOX from Russian weapons program plutonium. MOX is made by combining plutonium dioxide with […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Aug 1995

Nuclear Fission Vs. Combustion: Inexpensive Machines and Cheap Fuel

August 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

Nuclear fission is still in its adolescence, especially when compared to combustion, its major competitor. There is room for process innovations that will improve efficiency, increase flexibility and reduce machinery complexity. Changes in each of these areas offers the opportunity for major cost reductions. The next time you travel on a large jet, look out […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Aug 1995, Nuclear Cost Data, Smaller reactors

A Closer Look At Studies: Cost of Controlling Radiation Exposure

August 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

The nuclear industry has controlled radiation exposure for many years based on the principle of keeping doses As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). In theory, this is not a bad standard, but a great deal of time and money hinge on interpretation of the word “reasonable.” In the nuclear industry, one of the most heavily […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Aug 1995, Nuclear Cost Data

Letter from the Editor: Economics of Electrical Energy

August 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

Before discussing nuclear energy economics, it might be useful to understand how power plant investment decisions are made by electrical utilities. It is a complex subject, but one that is worth a bit of study. Normal Commodity? If electrical power was a normal commodity, the question that would rule production capacity investment decisions is, “How […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Aug 1995, Nuclear Cost Data

How Expensive Is Nuclear Power?: Nuclear Cost Data In The United States

August 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

It is difficult to convince people to stop believing an assertion they have heard over and over again, no matter how false the statement is. One of these false statements is that nuclear electricity is more costly than fossil generated electricity. One must understand that there are 109 different nuclear power plants operating in the […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights Aug 1995, Nuclear Cost Data

In the news: July 1995

July 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

U. S. House votes against Yucca Mountain (May 18, 1995) The House of Representatives voted to stop funding the permanent spent fuel repository currently planned for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The budget for the site would reach zero in 1997 according to the House plan. It left open the possibility of using the Nevada Test site […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights July 1995

Historical Repetition?: Will Nuclear Propulsion Follow Steam Propulsion?

July 1, 1995 By Rod Adams

The following is a sampling of comments on nuclear merchant ships from before 1973. Here are the observations of retired ship captain Alan Villiers, the National Geographic observer during the N.S. Savannah’s sea trials in 1962, “I stood on the Savannah‘s swept-back superstructure as she moved out into the Atlantic. She slipped along at an […]

Filed Under: Atomic Insights July 1995, Nuclear Ships

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