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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

Pound of uranium – how a man can carry thirty tanker trucks worth of energy

February 11, 2006 By Rod Adams

Many people that have heard me talk about the energy density of uranium have had the opportunity to see my “three shooters” demonstration.

Three shooters in the hand

For those of you who are totally lost, here is the background. If you compute the volume of uranium needed for a pound of the material you can compare it almost exactly to the volume of three large marbles – those of us old enough to have played the game used to call them “shooters”. Since a pound of uranium holds as much energy as 2,000,000 pounds of oil, and since the average over the road truck can carry about 65,000 pounds, it would take 30 tanker trucks of oil to contain the same amount of potential energy as a single handful of shooters.

Therefore, “Three shooters in the hand is worth 30 trucks on the road.”

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About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

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