Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘nuclear energy’ category: Page 125

Jan 28, 2017

Hydraulic muscle makes for tougher, stronger disaster-site robots

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, robotics/AI, transportation

The idea of using robots as the go-to for handling disaster situations isn’t new, but part of the problem has been how to build robots light enough to move about easily, yet are strong enough and tough enough to handle things like a smashed up nuclear reactor. As part of the answer, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Bridgestone Tires have partnered to develop a new hydraulic robotic muscle that is lightweight, yet is five to ten times as strong as conventional electric motors and much more durable.

The locations in disaster areas where the responders are needed most urgently are often the ones that are the hardest to get to, precisely because they’ve been hit so hard. The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster is a prime example. Despite the damage done to the nuclear power plant by the sea wave that struck it, the subsequent explosion and meltdown could have been avoided had emergency workers been able to reach it with the right equipment in time to make repairs and re-power the cooling systems.

Continue reading “Hydraulic muscle makes for tougher, stronger disaster-site robots” »

Jan 22, 2017

‘Miniature’, Modular Nuclear Power Plants Could Be Rolled Out in the US

Posted by in categories: habitats, nuclear energy, transportation

The future of nuclear power might look very different than we thought, with a US-based company presenting plans for miniature, modular nuclear power plants that are so small, they can fit on the back of a truck.

NuScale Power, the company behind the power plants, says each modular device is completely self-contained, and capable of producing 50-megawatts of electricity — enough to power thousands of homes.

The power plants stand 29.7 metres tall, so aren’t really that ‘miniature’, except relative to an acutal nuclear power plant. They also haven’t been tested as yet, so we need to reserve our excitment for when we can actually see these things in action.

Continue reading “‘Miniature’, Modular Nuclear Power Plants Could Be Rolled Out in the US” »

Dec 25, 2016

Imperial College of London makes world’s most heat resistant material at 4232 kelvin

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, space, transportation

Researchers have discovered that tantalum carbide and hafnium carbide materials can withstand scorching temperatures of nearly 4000 degrees Celsius.

Being able to withstand temperatures of nearly 4000°C could pave the way for both materials to be used in ever more extreme environments, such as in heat resistant shielding for the next generation of hypersonic space vehicles.

Tantalum carbide (TaC) and hafnium carbide (HfC) are refractory ceramics, meaning they are extraordinarily resistant to heat. Their ability to withstand extremely harsh environments means that refractory ceramics could be used in thermal protection systems on high-speed vehicles and as fuel cladding in the super-heated environments of nuclear reactors. However, there hasn’t been the technology available to test the melting point of TaC and HfC in the lab to determine how truly extreme an environment they could function in.

Continue reading “Imperial College of London makes world’s most heat resistant material at 4232 kelvin” »

Dec 14, 2016

Powering the World With Nuclear

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Transatomic believes they’ve figured out a safe, scalable, cost-effective way to power the world with nuclear.

Read more

Dec 6, 2016

Germany’s Wildly Complex Fusion Reactor Is Actually Working

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

The Wendelstein 7-X reactor, which uses a complex design called a stellerator, is performing just like it was predicted to.

Read more

Dec 6, 2016

Tests confirm Germany’s massive nuclear fusion machine really works

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Last year, scientists started up a new type of massive nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, known as a stellarator.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Greifswald, Germany, injected a tiny amount of hydrogen and heated it until it became plasma, effectively mimicking conditions inside the sun.

Continue reading “Tests confirm Germany’s massive nuclear fusion machine really works” »

Dec 6, 2016

Hawaii among top states in U.S. for hydrogen fuel cell projects

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, transportation

The report highlighted key programs and policies in the state including the state Legislature authorizing $1.25 million in bonds to design the refueling infrastructure for the Department of Transportation airport shuttle bus project.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that uses hydrogen and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-products. Hydrogen can come from fossil fuels such as natural gas or propane or renewable fuels including gas from an anaerobic digester or landfill. Hydrogen can also be produced by water electrolysis, which can be powered by electricity from renewables such as solar or wind or from nuclear energy and the grid.

Other top states for hydrogen and fuel cells include California, Connecticut and New York.

Continue reading “Hawaii among top states in U.S. for hydrogen fuel cell projects” »

Nov 29, 2016

Diamond Batteries Made of Nuclear Waste Can Generate Power For Thousands of Years

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nuclear energy, satellites, sustainability

In Brief

  • Scientist have developed an ingenious means of converting nuclear power plant waste (76,430 metric tons in the US alone) into sustainable diamond batteries.
  • These long-lasting batteries could be a clean and safe way to power spacecraft, satellites, and even medical devices.

Read more

Nov 28, 2016

Cold Fusion Lives: Experiments Create Energy When None Should Exist

Posted by in categories: engineering, nuclear energy

The field, now called low-energy nuclear reactions, may have legit results—or be stubborn junk science.

Read more

Nov 27, 2016

‘Diamond-age’ of power generation as nuclear batteries developed

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, physics

New technology has been developed that uses nuclear waste to generate electricity in a nuclear-powered battery. A team of physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol have grown a man-made diamond that, when placed in a radioactive field, is able to generate a small electrical current.

Read more