Quote:
Originally Posted by Chas H
Wave soldering machines have been around as long as printed circuit boards. Just don't turn on the pump before the solder is melted.
I have no idea how the sodium is initially melted in a reactor, but it's done.
We can vitrify nuke waste and send it out to the sun in containers that will withstand re-entry.
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Such containers exist? That would have to be hugely expensive.
I don't think IFRs will catch on either, just yet anyway. A few more decades of rising prices and dicey supply of other forms might raise interest. I'm not inclined to favor nuclear power but I agree with Stewart Brand that coal is just so bleedin' bad that we have to consider lesser evils.
Supposedly the physics of the setups for IFRs and pebble bed reactors don't allow runaway reactions, meltdowns, etc, in the event of loss of coolant.