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And there's 2 million more oil/coal on earth than uranium, quantity wise? Don't get me wrong, being an informed human being, I'm obviously pro-nuclear but if h

And there's 2 million more oil/coal on earth than uranium, quantity wise? Don't get me wrong, being an informed human being, I'm obviously pro-nuclear but if humanity main energy source become uranium then we will note have enough by the end of the century, at least by the current estimate (more funding will enable to find more uranium but it is an unknown which imply an existential risk). The solution would be thorium based nuclear reactors which would feed humanity for at least a millennium! But by design they must be less cost effective (how much?) and needs R&D funding today.

acidburnNSA 6y ago
Both uranium breeders and thorium breeders offer truly inexhaustible energy for humanity. Especially uranium, which is available in seawater at astronomical scale, and which replenishes first through runoff and then through plate tectonics. We'll run out of nuclear fission fuel roughly when we run out of nuclear fusion fuel in the sun (i.e. when the sun burns out). [1] http://large.stanford.edu/publications/coal/references/docs/pad11983cohen.pdf http://large.stanford.edu/publications/coal/references/docs/... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-seawater-extraction-makes-nuclear-power-completely-renewable/#24ee9a3159ae https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-s... [3] https://pubs.acs.org/toc/iecred/55/15 https://pubs.acs.org/toc/iecred/55/15
- natmaka 6y ago
  Research on breeders dissipated huge amount of money for decades, and right now only 2 of them (Russian) are running. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor#Development_and_notable_breeder_reactors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor#Development_an... > uranium, which is available in seawater This mining process is now experimental, there is no running industrial unit.
  - numpad0 6y ago
    Both can produce enriched nuclear material
  - acidburnNSA 6y ago
    > only 2 of them (Russian) are running. Don't forget: * FBTR in India * Joyo in Japan * CEFR in China Also the VTR project is underway in the USA [1] [1] https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/versatile-test-reactor https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/versa...
    - natmaka 6y ago
      > * FBTR in India ~13 MW, a lab test. Dates back from 1985. Where is the industrial successful unit? > * Joyo in Japan Another lab equipment, built in 1977. Where is the industrial successful unit? > * CEFR in China The '3' stands for 'Experimental' and it develops 25 MW. Where is... > Also the VTR project The 'T' stands for 'Test' and the plan is to have it by 2026. Where is...
deepnotderp 6y ago
Uranium can be extracted from seawater at reasonable cost and can last for at least tens of thousands of years from there

acidburnNSA 6y ago

Both uranium breeders and thorium breeders offer truly inexhaustible energy for humanity. Especially uranium, which is available in seawater at astronomical scale, and which replenishes first through runoff and then through plate tectonics. We'll run out of nuclear fission fuel roughly when we run out of nuclear fusion fuel in the sun (i.e. when the sun burns out). [1] http://large.stanford.edu/publications/coal/references/docs/pad11983cohen.pdf http://large.stanford.edu/publications/coal/references/docs/... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-seawater-extraction-makes-nuclear-power-completely-renewable/#24ee9a3159ae https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-s... [3] https://pubs.acs.org/toc/iecred/55/15 https://pubs.acs.org/toc/iecred/55/15

natmaka 6y ago
Research on breeders dissipated huge amount of money for decades, and right now only 2 of them (Russian) are running. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor#Development_and_notable_breeder_reactors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor#Development_an... > uranium, which is available in seawater This mining process is now experimental, there is no running industrial unit.
- numpad0 6y ago
  Both can produce enriched nuclear material
- acidburnNSA 6y ago
  > only 2 of them (Russian) are running. Don't forget: * FBTR in India * Joyo in Japan * CEFR in China Also the VTR project is underway in the USA [1] [1] https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/versatile-test-reactor https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/versa...
  - natmaka 6y ago
    > * FBTR in India ~13 MW, a lab test. Dates back from 1985. Where is the industrial successful unit? > * Joyo in Japan Another lab equipment, built in 1977. Where is the industrial successful unit? > * CEFR in China The '3' stands for 'Experimental' and it develops 25 MW. Where is... > Also the VTR project The 'T' stands for 'Test' and the plan is to have it by 2026. Where is...

deepnotderp 6y ago

Uranium can be extracted from seawater at reasonable cost and can last for at least tens of thousands of years from there