atomicalchemy

10 ms·

1.
by atomicalchemy 3y ago
Sam Altman is not reputable?
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by atomicalchemy 3y ago
The Aurora is based on a reactor design that operated for 30 years. The tech is proven.
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by atomicalchemy 7y ago
Another observation that I've had to support my hypothesis: NuScale is one of those entities doing something modestly different and has spent decades and hundreds of millions of dollars on just the regulatory component. Here in Silicon
4.
by atomicalchemy 7y ago
The world market is somewhere around $2Bn, even though current supply is not meeting demand. I think it can be much larger. If China and India were to use nuclear medicine at the same per capita basis as the US, those countries alone would
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by atomicalchemy 7y ago
That is an interesting question that comes up a lot. There really are no larger players who already operate reactors other than the power industry (power reactors generally cannot be used for radioisotope production) or government-run resea
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by atomicalchemy 7y ago
No need to apologize for asking questions! I'm using commercially available fuel that is available from fuel vendors. UO2 with zircaloy cladding. As far as I'm aware, the NRC has no stated mandate for removing reactor-based method
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Another thought--one of my biggest challenges with speaking to investors is the fixation on the regulatory process because it can be onerous. Interestingly enough, because this project is much smaller and simpler than a power plant, it is
8.
by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Indeed, the first step is to get all of the regulatory approvals to 1) construct and 2) operate the facility. Due to the simplicity of the reactor design and facility, and the low power it will operate at, it should take about 18 months for
9.
by atomicalchemy 8y ago
The moderators personally emailed me to let me know that this question was asked but was snagged by a software filter, and has been "unkilled." I'll answer on your original post.
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
In my last paragraph I should clarify something that sounds confusing as I re-read it: "perceived demand" is dropping, but it is dropping as supply decreases. All of the literature out there suggests that the demand for radioisoto
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
That's a huge boon. If you've already become familiar with nuclear codes by playing with OpenMC for fun , we may be talking sooner rather than later!
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
A radiochemist will help me determine the the size requirements of the hot cells for the final facility design. I understand the chemistry needed to separate out some of the most commonly used radioisotopes, but I don't have a sense of
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Thank you; that means a lot to me. I will definitely have to follow up sometime in the future.
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
By consolidating production facilities and positioning the facility as a factory, I can add some unique capabilities for moving things in and out of the reactor core. As an example, most research reactors have a facility called a "rabb
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
I formed Atomic Alchemy in 2018 because I thought that one had to have the credibility of a formed company in order to ever receive investment. With YC, you only need the idea, and you can form the company after you are accepted. And in my
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
My pleasure. Great questions. Yes--the scaled-up PULSTAR would still need regulatory approval for siting and operation, but would not need a new design certification (which is the real dream killer). I've deliberately chosen to use onl
17.
by atomicalchemy 8y ago
I was planning on using the TRIGA design when I first started this company, but due to a number of regulatory and supply issues around TRIGA fuel, I have decided to instead use a variation of the PULSTAR design currently used by NC State Un
18.
by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Thank you for the comment and well wishes. Chalk River shutting down was a huge blow to production capacity, as it alone supplied about 20% of the world's demand for radioisotopes. In fact, Chalk River shut down in 2016, but the licens
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Thank you. Much appreciated.
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Not at this exact moment, as the first steps require reactor engineers and chemists. However, if my seed raise goes as well, I will have some margin to get a software person to help couple together some of the various modeling and simulatio
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by atomicalchemy 8y ago
Great question. The way I'm currently looking at that issue is that the market for the US alone is huge (50% of the world market). By the time I satiate the US market, I will have been able to hire that expertise in. Another possibilit
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Launch HN: Atomic Alchemy (YC W19) – Manufacturing Nuclear Medicine
99 points by atomicalchemy 8y ago|40 comments