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LOL! That's actually a neat way to combat climate change. "Oh no, you've stolen my nuclear-powered, clean-energy reactor and you have to shut down your coal-fir

LOL! That's actually a neat way to combat climate change. "Oh no, you've stolen my nuclear-powered, clean-energy reactor and you have to shut down your coal-fired plants because they're so inefficient now... anyways" Seriously though, from what I read, these can't be used to make weapons, so it's actually a win/win if they get used or stolen.

iNane9000 5y ago
“ these can't be used to make weapons, so it's actually a win/win if they get used or stolen.” I don’t know anything about it, but I worry about who is making those safety assessments and what their conflicts and incentives are. It seems like a lot of things can be weaponized or used to nefarious purposes. I can imagine a portable energy source having a lot of potential uses, say powering small sea craft or whatever.
simplyinfinity 5y ago
From my understanding, most?(if not all) types of reactors can produce _some_ materials to make a bomb to varying degrees of dirtiness/nukenes with varying degrees of difficulty of doing so. Those smaller reactors will definitely have to be guarded.
- stuff4ben 5y ago
  This is a different type of reactor using a different type of fuel. FTFA: "The concept for the reactors began with the requirement that they would run off of tristructural isotropic particle fuel, or TRISO...Each TRISO particle is made up of a uranium, carbon and oxygen fuel kernel which is encapsulated by three layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive products" and then further down... "The fuel has two secondary benefits...the first being its resiliency to proliferation which can help deter the reactors from being targets for bombings or attacks.”
imtringued 5y ago
Reminds me of a German story: "In Germany, the story about how Frederick the Great was responsible for bestowing “potato happiness” on his subjects is well known. King of Prussia form 1740 to 1772, he is still referred to as “Alte Fritz” (Old Fritz) to this day. It is said that he ordered soldiers to guard a field of field of potatoes, ostensibly to protect this highly precious crop. Their curiosity aroused, the local farmers, who had up till then showed no interest in cultivating potatoes, stole some of them and started growing them themselves – or so the story goes." https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/germany/eating-drinking/kartoffel/ https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/germany/eating-d...

iNane9000 5y ago

“ these can't be used to make weapons, so it's actually a win/win if they get used or stolen.” I don’t know anything about it, but I worry about who is making those safety assessments and what their conflicts and incentives are. It seems like a lot of things can be weaponized or used to nefarious purposes. I can imagine a portable energy source having a lot of potential uses, say powering small sea craft or whatever.

simplyinfinity 5y ago

From my understanding, most?(if not all) types of reactors can produce _some_ materials to make a bomb to varying degrees of dirtiness/nukenes with varying degrees of difficulty of doing so. Those smaller reactors will definitely have to be guarded.

stuff4ben 5y ago
This is a different type of reactor using a different type of fuel. FTFA: "The concept for the reactors began with the requirement that they would run off of tristructural isotropic particle fuel, or TRISO...Each TRISO particle is made up of a uranium, carbon and oxygen fuel kernel which is encapsulated by three layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive products" and then further down... "The fuel has two secondary benefits...the first being its resiliency to proliferation which can help deter the reactors from being targets for bombings or attacks.”

imtringued 5y ago

Reminds me of a German story: "In Germany, the story about how Frederick the Great was responsible for bestowing “potato happiness” on his subjects is well known. King of Prussia form 1740 to 1772, he is still referred to as “Alte Fritz” (Old Fritz) to this day. It is said that he ordered soldiers to guard a field of field of potatoes, ostensibly to protect this highly precious crop. Their curiosity aroused, the local farmers, who had up till then showed no interest in cultivating potatoes, stole some of them and started growing them themselves – or so the story goes." https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/germany/eating-drinking/kartoffel/ https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/germany/eating-d...