The Atomic Show Podcast includes interviews, roundtable discussions and atomic geeks all centered around the idea that nuclear energy is an amazing boon for human society.
The atomic geeks ramble from DTE’s recent announcement of a site license application plan to TXU coal, to small atomic plants of the 1950s. Enjoy the ride! Rod and Shane discuss a variety of topics including DTE’s recent announcement of a plan to apply for a new nuclear plant site license (quite a change from…
Interview with Dr. J Marvin Herndon, best known for his development of the georeactor theory, an idea that the Earth’s core heat is provided by a natural fission reactor. Last night I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Dr. J. Marvin Herndon, a fascinating and independently minded geophysicist and chemist who is best known…
Atomic batteries can store thousands of times more energy per unit mass than chemical batteries – leading to very long lives in special applications One of our listeners – Bruno Garcia – asked us to talk about nuclear (atomic) batteries. These devices make use of the energy that radioactive isotopes emit on a continuous basis…
Leaders of at least ten major corporations have requested mandatory federal greenhouse gas limits Shane and I talk about the somewhat counterintuitive request by the heads of ten major US corporations (Including GE, FP and L Group, PG and E, Duke Energy, Caterpillar, Alcoa, DuPont, BP America, Lehman Brothers, PNM Resources) for the federal government…
Alberta oil sands producers are taking a hard look at CANDU nuclear power plants. Alberta Canada is one of the few areas in the world where oil production has increased rather dramatically during the past 5 years. The area has a vast resource of unconventional oil in the form of oil sands, where the concentration…
Topics on the show range all the way from rural electricity to atomic airplanes. The desire for electricity and the services that it provides is growing throughout the world. In many places the main source of that power is burning diesel fuel in small generators. Much of the conversation was spurred by an article in…
Professor Wade Allison recently gave a lecture to his Oxford colleagues titled “How dangerous is ionizing radiation”. He has concluded that excessively restrictive rules are more dangerous than the radiation. On Wednesday, 27 December, I woke up bright and early so that I could have a chat with Professor Wade Allison, who teaches physics at…
Business opportunities in the nuclear industry continue to grow. Shane and I discuss the Westinghouse-China deal, the US-India nuclear supply agreement, and Fresno Nuclear Group. After many years of relative calm, the nuclear business is heating up in many different areas of the world. Opportunities continue to grow, so Shane and I talk about some…
Food irradiation can prevent food borne illness caused by microorganisms like eColi. Shane and Rod discuss the technology, motivation, and controversy surrounding the application. It is possible to almost completely eliminate a number of different pathogens from food by treating that food with exposure to electron or gamma radiation. The process is approved by the…
Thorium is a nuclear fuel source with a lot of potential. Kirk Sorensen blogs at Energy from Thorium; he talked with Rod and Shane on December 5, 2006 Thorium is a heavy metal that is not directly useful as a nuclear reactor fuel. In certain kinds of reactors, however, it can provide high quality heat…
Rod Adams and Shane Brown discuss the properties of polonium. They move on to the hazards of mining and transporting coal. Polonium talk is all over the news media because of the recent poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent living in the UK. The tale is one suitable for a John Le…
George Stanford talks about sodium cooled fast reactors George Stanford earned his PhD in experimental nuclear physics from Yale University and then spent his professional career doing nuclear reactor safety research at the Argonne National Laboratory. One of his special interest was the sodium cooled fast reactor program. He worked on the Experimental Breeder Reactor…