Russia Unveils Detailed Plans To Build 21 New Nuclear Power Units By 2030

[PamW]

51. MORE ERRORS!!!

First - "Fused" as used in SCIENCE doesn't mean molten.

For example, "Fused Silica" is NOT molten. We're speaking about SCIENCE; then we use the scientific terminology. The fact that the British have a non-standard terminology that is INCONSISTENT with scientific terminology is THEIR problem.

I didn't say the actinide element had to sustain a chain reaction. I just said that it has to be fissioned. Evidently you don't understand that those are NOT the same meaning. I gave the analogy with the incinerator that I guess went over your head. Let's try it again; and put some mental effort into it this time.

Suppose I have a material that is combustible; but won't sustain combustion by itself, or his hard to ignite. Think charcoal briquettes. They are hard to ignite unless you put some kindling material like newspaper, or you soak them with lighter fluid. However, suppose you put those hard to burn briquettes in an incinerator that was fed by gas. The gas fuel keeps the incinerator going; and with that steady flame; the charcoal is eventually going to burn even though it would be hard to start it burning by itself.

If you want to destroy a non-fissile actinide like U-238. Uranium-238 is not fissile but it is fissionable U-238 WILL FISSION if the energy of the neutron is above about 1 MeV. Some of the U-238 in a reactor fissions due to fast neutrons directly from fission. When Enrico Fermi derived the "four factor formula"; one of the factors is the "fast fission factor" to account for fission of U-238:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-factor_formula

U-238 WILL fission if the neutron inducing the fission is over 1 MeV in energy which is why it is called "fissionable".

Nuclear weapons can get a fair amount of their energy from fissioning U-238.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fission_weapon

The neutrons released by fusion will fission U-238. This U-238 fission reaction produces most of the energy in a typical two-stage thermonuclear weapon.

( You will find the above quoted line just above the bold heading "Fusion" )

So U-238 DOES FISSION; so it can be destroyed in a reactor by fission. The U-238 doesn't have to sustain the neutron production; any more than a combustible material being incinerated in an incinerator doesn't have to keep the incinerator going. The fuel gas does that.

This is so simple. I really find it very hard to explain it unless you put some mental horsepower in. I can explain it to you; but I can't understand it for you.


Please enlighten me how a reactor that is not slated for complete decommission until 2037 has been removed.

Evidently you don't know there were TWO Windscale reactors. There's only ONE now that is slated for 2037.
But where is its TWIN. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windscale_fire

Look at the picture. There were TWO IDENTICAL reactors with twin exhaust towers.

Use Google Earth or Bing Aerial to look at Sellafield now; there is only ONE reactor with that large tower still standing. That is the one that will be dismantled in 2037. But its TWIN has already been dismantled.

GADS - you're British and you DIDN'T KNOW that Sellafield had TWO Windscale reactors.

...and this person claims that I'm the IGNORANT one when it comes to Sellafield.

GEESH!!@!

PamW