Atomic Insights

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

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The Atomic Show #132 – Ray Squirrel Interviews (Atomic) Rod Adams

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Ray Squirrel is the screen name used by a documentary film maker who is collecting material for a film about nuclear power. You can find some of the work he has done so far at RaySquirrel’s youtube site. I am not sure how the film will come out, but I thought you might be interested in the interview that Ray’s assistant, James conducted with me on Wednesday, 13 May.

Warning – this podcast is the longest Atomic Show yet at about 105 minutes.

He asked a lot of good, probing questions with an open attitude. Topics include Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., small nuclear power plants, the nuclear renaissance, French nuclear power experiences, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, nuclear waste, hazards of other energy sources, my thoughts on large scale renewable energy systems, and the importance of understanding commercial energy competition.

During the interview I mentioned a local natural gas explosion that injured 8 firefighters and one employee of the Washington Gas Company. Here is a link to more information about that accident – which had more serious effects on the public health than the far more widely publicized Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident.

Explosion a good reminder there are no ‘routine’ calls

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The Atomic Show #099 – StartupStoryRadio.com interviews Rod Adams of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc.

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Rob McNealy is the host and producer of StartupStoryRadio.com. Rob and Rod Adams chatted recently about Rod’s efforts as atomic entrepreneur who wants to change the world.

Rob McNealy of StartupStoryRadio.com and I had an interesting chat on Tuesday about Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. (AAE). We discussed the 15-year effort to build an independent, atomic energy focused company that can be self sustaining. (Aside – any any navy nuke will know, achieving a self-sustaining condition is a very important milestone.)

We – right now mostly “I”, but I have had a lot of help over the years – are now focusing on efforts to share energy information and market the potential that nuclear fission has to change the world’s energy market dynamics. Some may wonder how you make money by sharing, but there is incredible value in knowledge and information.

AAE has been a ‘C’ corporation since 1993, but we have been searching for a business model that works under the current legal and regulatory constraints that make it exceedingly costly – with substantial regulatory and financial risk to success – to set a course for building our simplified atomic generators.

After many meetings and discussions with investors, team members, and potential investors, we think we have a fuzzy plan that will work while retaining one of our most important assets – independence. As you continue listening to the Atomic Show and reading the Atomic Insights Blog, you will begin hearing from our sponsors. Please understand that any supporters are welcome, but they will choose to support because of what we are already doing and saying.

As I have told people many times, and hope that I have demonstrated to you over the years, my soul would be too expensive for anyone to purchase. If our message happens to attract an audience and that audience happens to be attractive enough so that commercial enterprises pay to talk to that audience, that’s good.

It will not change the message development process, which involves a serious effort to figure out the right path, not the path that will make the most money over a short period of time. My messages may not be popular, but I am okay with that.

That is a long way of saying that you will hear interesting sponsor messages on the Atomic Show, but you should not expect us to change our tune.

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