if they can pull this off and get a throium cycle going it's like having a practically unlimited fuel supply
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2024
83 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
966 readers
27 users here now
A tech news sub for communists
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Yup, and also way safer since molten salt will solidify when the reactor turns off. Another huge benefit is that you don't need a large body of water near by for cooling, meaning these reactors can be deployed a lot more widely.
yeah super excited about this too. every modern operating reactor should have been molten salt a long time ago. eliminates both "we can't risk water supplies in climate change!" and meltdown fears in a one-two punch
plus very adaptable for use in space
the ultimate will be adding an MHD generator to the mix
Indeed, next decade should be pretty exciting for nuclear power.
eliminates both "we can't risk water supplies in climate change!" and meltdown fears in a one-two punch
can you explain this further?
one of the most common anti-nuclear arguments these days is basically against conventional water cooled reactors which need a large supply of water (basically a small lake or pond) to provide reliable cooling to the reactors. (this is what those big "smoke stacks" are for) this was made worse recently when europe had a drought and the rivers there were drying up and France had to shut down reactors due to the risk of running out of coolant water
molten salt reactors don't require water for coolant. the molten salt is the coolant (and fuel!) itself, since these reactors run hotter overall. thus they can be built anywhere as long as you pair them with a chemical plant that can produce additional salt when needed (which is very minimal compared to water needs)
as for the meltdown fears, these reactors can't create a steam explosion or other issues relating to water cooled reactors. if they risk meltdown, you simply cut external power and the molten salt starts to solidify which ends the reaction on it's own. water reactors need power (either external or from the reactor) to run pumps to keep them cool. molten salt needs power simply to not shut down.
(i just typed this off the top of my head and if you need to i can find some more detailed sources and info since i may have some things wrong)
Bazinga brain 
“I fucking love science” 
libs were hard for this like ten years ago, but now that China is making it a reality they’re quiet.
Oh no, there's a futurology thread jerking themselves about how the West figured it out in the 60s and China stole the tech. Saying they're being reckless and also hiding pollution from it. Typical every accusation is an admission racism from
Ugh, I wish I hadn’t posted that so you wouldn’t have told me. I was happier in ignorance lmao
blatantly starting from western chauvinism and arguing backwards
Hell yeah!