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.
Pebble bed reactor history and future At the request of several listeners and blog readers, Shane and I decided to focus this podcast on the graphite and heavy metal “pebbles” that form the basic fuel element for a number of currently proposed reactor types. We talk a bit about the inventor of the pebble bed…
Chat with a uranium mineral collector and nuclear power supporter Ruth Sponsler is an amateur mineral collector, a resident of the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and an active supporter of the use of nuclear energy. She blogs at We Support Lee. Shane and I invited her onto the show to talk about her unusual…
Uranium resources and mining Uranium is a relatively common metal. The quantity that is readily available for human use is far larger than the quantity that would be required to fuel a vastly larger base of nuclear reactors than the one that is in operation today. The Uranium Information Center has published an excellent briefing…
Impressions of talk by the Nuclear Energy Institute President. Shane and I start off the show by congratulating the voters in Sweden for their recent election of a new government. The leaders of the parties that seem likely to form the new coalition government have declared that they will not shut down any of Sweden’s…
Space exploration applications of nuclear power Space exploration is critically dependent on energy sources that are long lasting and can operate in a vacuum. Nuclear power fits the bill, but there have always been objections that limited its applications. Objections notwithstanding there have also been a number of missions where the only real solution was…
The new generation of nuclear power plants that are being considered are simpler machines with features that depend on physics rather than automation to provide safety. The new reactors designs that will be built in the US (and perhaps in countries like the UK, Japan, and China) are refined versions of the first and second…
Small nuclear power plants can deliver the benefits of electrical power to the 2 billion people that currently do not have access to electricity. Shane and I were inspired by an article titled “Nuclear to the rescue” by Paul Driessen who also wrote “Eco-Imperialism: Green Power Black Death.”. I had posted a comment about the…
Topics range from helium to coal and include high temperature gas reactors. Shane and I get our groove back and engage in a geeky discussion on topics ranging from helium to coal and somehow manage to include such topics as aviation safety, nuclear engineering career paths, computing the cost of common products like a liter…
The big news since Shane and I last talked is the announcement by a Texan named George Chapman of the formation of Amarillo Power and its plans to build two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR) near Amarillo Texas. Shane questions the location based on his frequent drives through the area. Water might be an issue,…
It was one of those weeks when Shane and I could simply not match our schedules for a talk. Just so none of you would miss your Atomic Show fix, I have obtained permission to post an interview of me conducted by Paige and Gretchen of Mommycast. I had been corresponding with them about my…
Shane and I start with a lengthy and informative discussion about saturation diving, a technique that allows humans to operate in deep water for weeks at a time. This technique is often a part of off-shore oil drilling and production and is one of the many reasons that there are high costs associated with that…
During episode number 22, Shane and I begin with a rant about people like George Monbiot, the author of a recent article titled Sure, nuclear power is safer than in the past – but we still don’t need it. Our big beef is that he accepts a fossil fuel industry supported notion that it is…
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