5 ms·

Ah, my favorite topic. There was a $1B (1950s dollars) program in the 1950s to make these. It led to vast nuclear development. Some good reading and pictures on

Ah, my favorite topic. There was a $1B (1950s dollars) program in the 1950s to make these. It led to vast nuclear development. Some good reading and pictures on it are in this huge report [1]. I particularly like this image: https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg Another fun fact, if you've heard of molten salt reactors (MSR) or the associated thorium fuel cycle, you should know that almost all of the tech development related to those projects came from the program to develop nuclear-powered aircraft. The first MSR was called the Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE) [2]. The second one, the famed MSRE, was built in the building that had been entirely funded and built for the air force project, using mostly parts and certainly the expertise built by it. [1] https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1048124-comprehensive-technical-report-general-electric-direct-air-cycle-aircraft-nuclear-propulsion-program-program-summary-references https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1048124-comprehensive-technical-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_Reactor_Experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_Reactor_Experiment

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
willismichael 7y ago
> https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg That looks like some sort of bio-mechanical abomination descended from Cthulhu.
- time0ut 7y ago
  Funny you should mention it. A similar hypothetical weapons system is deployed against Cthulhu in the excellent short story A Colder War by Charles Stross. See http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm
stickfigure 7y ago
You can visit the two test reactors/engines, sitting in a parking lot in Arco, ID. Here's some pics I took about a decade ago: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763287997/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763287997/in/album-7... https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763298693/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763298693/in/album-7... The lead-lined railroad locomotive was pretty cool too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763363831/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763363831/in/album-7... (there's a few more if you click through to the album)
- acidburnNSA 7y ago
  Indeed! Those HTREs in the lot were prototypes for this particular engine. The parking lot is for the Experimental Breeder Reactor I, the first reactor in the world to make electricity. It was cooled with sodium-potassium eutectic liquid metal. Really amazing museum now.
TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
Don't forget Project Pluto - a nuclear powered ramjet on a cruise missile would have circled close to ground level irradiating huge areas after flattening them with supersonic shock waves. There's some revisionism in the Wikipedia article, but you can still make out the outline intent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto
jacquesm 7y ago
Shades of Boris Artzybasheff. https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4554374811_dc9cb3f810.jpg https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4554374811_dc...
phasetransition 7y ago
I presume you have Weinberg's book?
- acidburnNSA 7y ago
  Yeah it's my favorite.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

willismichael 7y ago

> https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg https://whatisnuclear.com/img/nuclear_rocket.jpg That looks like some sort of bio-mechanical abomination descended from Cthulhu.

time0ut 7y ago
Funny you should mention it. A similar hypothetical weapons system is deployed against Cthulhu in the excellent short story A Colder War by Charles Stross. See http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

stickfigure 7y ago

You can visit the two test reactors/engines, sitting in a parking lot in Arco, ID. Here's some pics I took about a decade ago: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763287997/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763287997/in/album-7... https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763298693/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763298693/in/album-7... The lead-lined railroad locomotive was pretty cool too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763363831/in/album-72157621750944722/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhoriman/3763363831/in/album-7... (there's a few more if you click through to the album)

acidburnNSA 7y ago
Indeed! Those HTREs in the lot were prototypes for this particular engine. The parking lot is for the Experimental Breeder Reactor I, the first reactor in the world to make electricity. It was cooled with sodium-potassium eutectic liquid metal. Really amazing museum now.

TheOtherHobbes 7y ago

Don't forget Project Pluto - a nuclear powered ramjet on a cruise missile would have circled close to ground level irradiating huge areas after flattening them with supersonic shock waves. There's some revisionism in the Wikipedia article, but you can still make out the outline intent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto

jacquesm 7y ago

Shades of Boris Artzybasheff. https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4554374811_dc9cb3f810.jpg https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4554374811_dc...

phasetransition 7y ago

I presume you have Weinberg's book?

acidburnNSA 7y ago
Yeah it's my favorite.