this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

There are some fusion designs that use direct energy conversion.

Some work went into fission designs as well.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_energy_conversion

[–] unlawfulbooger@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I heard that somewhere in the US there were parts of a nuclear power plant being delivered by steam train. So that’s basically one steam engine supplying another! (^^,)

I can’t seem to find an article about it anywhere, so it might be an urban legend :(

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Big Steam is playing us for suckers!

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[–] frezik@midwest.social 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Given that the first commercial nuclear power plants in the US were coming online in the late 1950s, that's entirely possible. Steam trains were well on their way out by then, but there were still a few hauling freight around.

Fun adjacent fact: even when the British Empire had moved off of wind sails and into coal, those coal ships didn't have the range to possibly cover the entire Empire. Coal stations were setup around the world, and the coal had to be transported by sail. The previous technology helps get the next generation technology going.

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[–] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Nuclear power is the refining distilling and enriching of uranium into unstable isotopes and higher elements, boiling water is one small step in converting nuclear energy into electrical energy.

[–] Rolder@reddthat.com 7 points 2 days ago

But it’s one of the most important steps because it’s where the actual electricity comes from.

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[–] uis@lemm.ee 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

And then there are thermonuclear generators

[–] Beacon@fedia.io 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Sheng Wang is hilarious! Seriously, if you like comedy then watch his stuff

[–] exasperation@lemm.ee 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Both Jimmy O. Yang and Sheng Wang are hilarious, but you should recognize that they are two different people.

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[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

plus a side of extra spicy landfill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site

"safe nuclear": Between 1944 and 1971, pump systems drew as much as 75,000 US gallons per minute (4,700 L/s) of cooling water from the Columbia River to dissipate the heat produced by the reactors. Before its release into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived isotopes were not affected by this retention, and several terabecquerels entered the river every day. The federal government kept knowledge about these radioactive releases secret.

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