All Questions
Tagged with nuclear-power internal-consistency
20
questions
2
votes
4
answers
748
views
In this alternate history, what great 19th century mind would most likely create the first nuclear powered engine?
I’m bringing nuclear power to the 19th century and need to know who had the tools and connections to become the 19th century “Father of nuclear power.”
Background: The Real World
Raw, unenriched ...
6
votes
1
answer
261
views
How self-sufficient a fast breeder nuclear power plant can be in a post-apocalyptic setting?
Setting
The full society collapse is starting, and a group of people know it. It may or may not lead to a total extinction event. They can't protect a whole city but a couple of hectares is doable. ...
1
vote
1
answer
126
views
Could a pebble-bed reactor provide sporadic power for millions of years?
The device needed is a monitoring system. Aliens leave a probe on Earth or orbiting Earth, which typically lies dormant, but it awakes every 1,000 years or so to check life's status on Earth.
There's ...
6
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Running a nuclear power plant in the post-apocalypse: is it possible?
So, the apocalypse has occurred, and for about 150 years humanity spent its time wallowing in misery, sorrow, and so on.
So moving on, in the northwest of Nevada there’s an abandoned nuclear reactor, ...
5
votes
1
answer
259
views
How could a brown dwarf be used for energy?
I've been thinking about a civilization on a planet orbiting around a brown dwarf drifting in interstellar space. Obviously, by definition, a brown dwarf is too small to have much fusion on its own. I'...
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-...
4
votes
3
answers
675
views
Fusion powered aircraft methods
I am trying to design a single seat fighter capable of achieving (or getting close to) hypersonic velocities at high altitude. In this universe I am assuming compact fusion is a common technology.
...
1
vote
3
answers
128
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Repercussions of floating nuclear power station going into meltdown?
Set in an alternate 2010s/2020s, floating nuclear power station are now common as they can provide power to any city it is docked at (think along the lines of this real world example. or this ...
15
votes
2
answers
725
views
Train-World: Feasibility of radioisotope steam-electric engines
...It's paradox. They left us these technological marvels, yet with all their might and knowledge they failed to prevent their own doom...
Excerpt from a lecture by the High Historian of Berlin Falls
...
24
votes
11
answers
8k
views
Why would Fission be used in a world where Fusion reactors exist?
In my world, all terrestrial bodies in the solar-system of over 900 km size have a significant human presence. Earth-moon Travel is as common as an interstate road trip, and Interplanetary travel is ...
10
votes
14
answers
4k
views
Nuclear power for nomads
Is it possible to create a scenario where nuclear power is a practical option for nomads living like in Mongolia?
There's two possible applications of nuclear power. One is to just use it as a heat ...
53
votes
19
answers
34k
views
How can I build a Nuclear Reactor in my backyard? [closed]
In my world, having a nuclear reactor at your own house is legal, in fact government donates money in the form of subsidies ( So no constraints of funds). This might have been practical because of ...
25
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Would a civilization on a planet with no natural Uranium-235 NEED to first achieve fusion before it can build nukes?
If a much older solar system - say 10 billion years with a slow burning star - would sprout intelligent life at around that age, given the half-life of U-235 and natural Uranium reserves, according to ...
26
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Practicality of a thorium-powered, superheated-steam car?
At the beginning of the 1900s, the Doble Steam Motors Company built steam cars. Their engineers solved many of the problems steam cars had until then by using superheated steam and a condenser to ...
6
votes
4
answers
562
views
World governments shutting down their nuclear power plants after Chernobyl?
What if in an alternate universe after the Chernobyl incident, the world governments decide to shut down their nuclear power plants and if so how would that affect society?