All Questions
Tagged with nuclear nuclear-power
17
questions
10
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Everything has a tiny nuclear reactor in it. How much of a concern are illegal nuclear bombs?
In this world, basically every structure (building, factory, car, etc...) has a tiny nuclear reactor in it, and operates like a nuclear submarine. There isn't even an electrical grid; every structure ...
- 13k
-1
votes
1
answer
142
views
What will happen to nuclear power stations / reactors if chain reaction suddenly stops to provide energy?
What will happen to reactors if nuclear fission chain reactions in some specific areas will just stop working?
Other types of nuclear phenomena (ones with gamma rays, positrons,etc) are still in ...
- 338
4
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Can You Make A Tiny Nuclear Reactor By Employing Supercritical Conditions For Brief Periods Of Time?
The idea is that you would have pieces of plutonium or U233 close enough that if left to their own devices they should go supercritical in a fraction of a second. However, in between the pieces you ...
- 2,803
3
votes
3
answers
313
views
Feasibility of Tiny Nuclear Engines
In this setting nuclear material is incredibly cheap, while all hydrocarbons need to be synthesized from scratch. Additionally people have shadow magic which allows them to both easily shield against ...
- 2,803
13
votes
13
answers
5k
views
What sort of nuclear-based transportation would be best suited to cheaply transporting large amount of cargo if radiation weren't a concern?
In this scenario people are in a constant war on an infinite flat world with the geography of Antarctica's interior (but with no liquid water or hydrocarbons). Notably this world has an abundance of ...
- 2,803
27
votes
11
answers
6k
views
Nuclear Piston Engine - Is it possible?
While researching unique methods of nuclear energy generation and propulsion, I encountered many things, both in rocketry and aerospace. For instance, the nuclear thermal jet engine. However, I found ...
- 1,660
6
votes
2
answers
268
views
Unforeseen Consequences of Limiting Nuclear Fission
From my understanding nuclear fission takes place in two different scenarios and correlates with the speed of a neutron. In terms of material, we have fissionable material which undergo nuclear ...
- 3,143
4
votes
5
answers
276
views
With modern-day/near-future (i.e. potentially realizable within 20 years) technology, can a nuclear reactor with these characteristics be built?
I'm writing about a nuclear-powered tank. Yes, I know about what the problems associated with it are. No, the people in the setting don't care about radioactive contamination of their environment, or ...
- 13.1k
-3
votes
1
answer
212
views
Can we fulfill the world electricity production by nuclear power? [closed]
Nuclear energy is a form of energy released from the nucleus, the core of atoms, made up of protons and neutrons. In today's world has 450 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in 30 countries.
...
2
votes
2
answers
97
views
How Can An Alien Ship Harness Nuclear Energy? [closed]
A massive alien vessel is buried in a sandbank under the sea. Research subs detect a vast supply of nuclear energy held within it.
I've been researching power plants, fission and the processes that ...
- 861
1
vote
2
answers
156
views
Do chemicals from nuclear reprocessing waste remain radioactive? Are they flammable?
I'm writing a story about a town whose residents all work at a nuclear reprocessing site. Some teenagers begin to hang out near a small body of water close to the site that they call "the swamp". The ...
- 29
1
vote
3
answers
968
views
What would be the best way to power a mecha? [closed]
While searching around, I kept hearing that fusion was a good choice, but how best to covert the energy to electricity was an issue.
However, during my research, I came across this:
Photon-...
- 415
-1
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What would happen if you went swimming in a spent fuel pool?
If one of my modern-day characters, a nuclear power-plant worker decides to take a swim in one of these pools, what will happen?
Would he die, get sick, or not much?
- 196
4
votes
1
answer
544
views
What will happen to a spent nuclear fuel pool without routine maintenance?
Assuming the human population is decimated (how doesn't matter) such that nuclear power plant maintenance is impossible. What would happen to a spent nuclear fuel rod pool? It seems to me that ...
- 41
3
votes
4
answers
874
views
Lead as a nuclear fuel
On a timescale of 1e11 years, all uranium and thorium will have decayed, but planets will still exist, orbiting red dwarf stars.
Would it be possible to use lead as a nuclear fuel? In principle, the ...
- 4,906