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Archive for the ‘nuclear energy’ category: Page 57

Jan 4, 2022

World’s First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Starts Producing Energy in China

Posted by in categories: engineering, nuclear energy

As the country bids to become the world leader in nuclear power, it plans surpassing the U.S. in 15 years.


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Jan 4, 2022

China, US, UK, France and Russia pledge to avoid nuclear war

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military, nuclear energy

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Five of the world’s largest nuclear powers pledged on Monday to work together toward “a world without nuclear weapons” in a rare statement of unity amid rising East-West tensions.

“A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” said the joint statement, which was issued simultaneously by the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France. “As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons — for as long as they continue to exist — should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.”

Continue reading “China, US, UK, France and Russia pledge to avoid nuclear war” »

Jan 4, 2022

China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ Has Just Hit a New Nuclear Fusion Milestone

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

China’s “artificial sun”, a nuclear fusion tokamak reactor that could provide almost limitless amounts of emission-free energy, set a new record on Thursday by running for 1,056 seconds at high plasma temperature, according to a report from Xinhua.

The particular tokamak reactor is called EAST, which stands for Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. It is located in Hefei, China, and it also broke a record in May when i… See more.

Dec 31, 2021

Europe’s power crunch shuts down factories as prices hit record

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

The crunch is so severe that it’s forcing factories to curb output or shut down altogether. Aluminium Dunkerque Industries France has curbed production in the past two weeks due to high power prices, while Trafigura’s Nyrstar will pause production at its zinc smelter in France in the first week of January. Romanian fertilizer producer Azomures temporarily halted output.

Electricite de France SA said last week it would halt four reactors accounting for 10 per cent of the nation’s nuclear capacity, straining power grids already facing cold weather. At the beginning of January, 30 per cent of France’s nuclear capacity will be offline, increasing the reliance on gas, coal and even oil.

Dec 31, 2021

Germany Is Shutting Down Three of Its Last Six Nuclear Plants Today

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

As the world is leaving 2021 behind, Germany announced that it will shut down three of its remaining nuclear power plants.

Dec 29, 2021

Twisty nuclear fusion reactor gets twice as hot as the sun

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, physics

Physicists optimized a nuclear fusion reactor to overcome a problem that causes heat loss and prevents the device from sustaining fusion.

Dec 27, 2021

Magnetic-Confinement Fusion Without the Magnets

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Zap Energy’s new Z-pinch fusion reactor promises a simpler approach to an elusive goal.

Dec 27, 2021

Tokamak Energy Has Just Made a Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion

Posted by in categories: innovation, nuclear energy

Magnets could be the ‘secret sauce’ required for viable nuclear fusion.

Tokamak Energy, a company working on nuclear fusion technology, has recently announced a major breakthrough in its research and development. Testing of its cryogenic power electronic technology for its superconducting magnet’s high-efficiency operation was, by all accounts, a big success.

The company’s bid to provide the world with near-limitless energy uses a combination of spherical tokamaks and high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets. According to reports, tests of the new power electronics showed twice the efficiency of previous systems.

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Dec 24, 2021

Tetris Handheld Powered By Tritium Cell, Eventually

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, mathematics, nuclear energy, solar power, sustainability

The idea of a tritium power cell is pretty straightforward: stick enough of the tiny glowing tubes to a photovoltaic panel and your DIY “nuclear battery” will generate energy for the next decade or so. Only problem is that the power produced, measured in a few microwatts, isn’t enough to do much with. But as [Ian Charnas] demonstrates in his latest video, you can eke some real-world use out of such a cell by storing up its power over a long enough period.

As with previous projects we’ve seen, [Ian] builds his cell by sandwiching an array of keychain-sized tritium tubes between two solar panels. Isolated from any outside light, power produced by the panels is the result of the weak green glow given off by the tube’s phosphorus coating as it gets bombarded with electrons. The panels are then used to charge a bank of thin-film solid state batteries, which are notable for their exceptionally low self-discharge rate.

Continue reading “Tetris Handheld Powered By Tritium Cell, Eventually” »

Dec 24, 2021

Betavoltaic device

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military, nuclear energy

(betavoltaic cell or betavoltaic battery) is a type of nuclear battery which generates electric current from beta particles (electrons) emitted from a radioactive source, using semiconductor junctions. A common source used is the hydrogen isotope tritium. Unlike most nuclear power sources which use nuclear radiation to generate heat which then is used to generate electricity, betavoltaic devices use a non-thermal conversion process, converting the electron-hole pairs produced by the ionization trail of beta particles traversing a semiconductor.[1]

Betavoltaic power sources (and the related technology of alphavoltaic power sources[2]) are particularly well-suited to low-power electrical applications where long life of the energy source is needed, such as implantable medical devices or military and space applications.[1].

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