Nuclear power stations

[ManDownUnder]

Why don't we just become less dependant on electricity?

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!

Get the cash cost of a power station (Nuke or otherwise), apply it to energy conserving measures and se what happens...

$200million (as a number from out of my arse) applied to providing solar hot water heating to the ations homes would go a long long way to easing NZ's base load generation requirements. The hydros can then be used for the variable load (more than they currently are) and the amount of spinning reserve NZ needs would drop through the floor...

Or is that just too sensible?

Step 1) Mandate all new houses need a solar HW system
Step 2) Rebate the hell out of retrofitted Solar HW systems
Step 3) Smile at the reduced requirements for power stations, line upgrades (HT Transmission as well as local distribution)
Step 4) Or possibly step one) tell the whinging lobby groups to shut the hell up, accept they're going to lose some money in a move that's good for the economy and environment.

*ding* - "NEXT!"

[MisterD]

Virtually no-one in the Northern Hemisphere escaped.

I don't think I wanted to see that...I can still remember sitting at home (in the East of England) and watching the news showing the predicted cloud heading our way.

[R6_kid:Me]

To generate enough power to meet demand. Australia may not have the natural resources that we do in order to generate power (Geothermal, Hydro, gas).

lol but they have a big fuckoff desert that does nothing but catch the sun's rays... in saying that though solar power does give off quite a bit of heat which wouldnt be good for fixing their droughts.

You also have to remember that with a situation like this where radiation has been spread over such a large area that it is going to effect europe for years to come. Sure the Chernobly babies were deformed etc, but my physics teacher had an interesting idea... There are time periods in history (pre-history even) that show signs of accelerated 'evolution', which from memory coincided to with a few 100 years of the either the ozone layer opening or switched in the earths polarity (i.e polar shift when north becomes south) which means that radiation is allowed to enter the lower atmosphere much more so than usual.

I think it will be interesting to see in 100 years how people in that area differ physilogically(sp) to say people in the southern hemisphere or areas not subjected to the extra radiation. Ok so more them will die from cancers and the like but i'm sure there will be some places where the people become bigger/stronger or atleast 'different' to the rest of us.

[Ixion]

So Hitch if one gets built near you...........you've got no problems??

Skyyrder

If the transmission lines were underground I'd have no worries living next door to one.

[lb99]

you keep away I want all that cheap land for myself, I can finally have an estate ( or a soverign principality) ,Build the bastard down here, next to the spybase, the drop in property prices will get rid of all the tree hugging suv driving soccar moms and make it far easier for me to become a slumlord

[Swoop]

Being a small country with little money, we can't really afford one of those safe fusion power stations. However, there are some second hand one's available ex-soviet union that are quite cheap and will do the job fine.

Ex Soviet Fusion power stations?
The ones that haven't been invented yet? Or are you referring to fission?
You are quite correct on the fact we will not be able to afford a fusion reactor. Perhaps we could divert the funds from the rugby stadium to purchase one?

Since fusion has not been invented yet.... Fission is the only current option.

Thank you for the correction Professor Swoop. Actually, Fusion has been invented, it's just not perfected.

The thread is about nuclear power stations. All those currently in operation are fission and my post was referring to the economically viable production of electricity from a fusion reactor. Research continues with international involvement and funding to develop such a thing.
I apologise for any confusion that my post may have caused. My context was in that of the threads title (commercial power stations rather than scientific experiments).

Infact in some instances the wind turbines have meant other renewable power sources (hydro) have had to spill water when the wind was blowing.

Very interesting. This would surely help placate the environmentalists who say that rivers are dying because of the water being diverted for the hydro production method?

[xwhatsit]

Bah, fusion is horrible shit.

I'm a huge fan of Miles Davis, but he really really badly fucked up when he invented fusion. Should've stuck to Milestones and Kind of Blue.

[Pixie]

I'm struggling to see how a stream of ionised plasma in the stratosphere could be regarded as AC, but full marks for picking up on the inherent bad taste in mentioning DC and Tesla in the same sentence.

Tesla's design was for power transmission via RF.Plasma was not involved

[Pixie]

I don't think I wanted to see that...I can still remember sitting at home (in the East of England) and watching the news showing the predicted cloud heading our way.

But you're not worried about all the uranium from the coal used in the UK,that you were exposed to while you were there?

It's like talking to a brick wall

[Pixie]

lol but they have a big fuckoff desert that does nothing but catch the sun's rays... in saying that though solar power does give off quite a bit of heat which wouldnt be good for fixing their droughts.

You also have to remember that with a situation like this where radiation has been spread over such a large area that it is going to effect europe for years to come. Sure the Chernobly babies were deformed etc, but my physics teacher had an interesting idea... There are time periods in history (pre-history even) that show signs of accelerated 'evolution', which from memory coincided to with a few 100 years of the either the ozone layer opening or switched in the earths polarity (i.e polar shift when north becomes south) which means that radiation is allowed to enter the lower atmosphere much more so than usual.

I think it will be interesting to see in 100 years how people in that area differ physilogically(sp) to say people in the southern hemisphere or areas not subjected to the extra radiation. Ok so more them will die from cancers and the like but i'm sure there will be some places where the people become bigger/stronger or atleast 'different' to the rest of us.

Sounds like an idea your physics teacher pulled out of his arse,as teachers are wont to do when talking to naive students.
I have never encountered this theory in any of the scientific literature I have read in 40 years

[Pixie]

Bah, fusion is horrible shit.

I'm a huge fan of Miles Davis, but he really really badly fucked up when he invented fusion. Should've stuck to Milestones and Kind of Blue.

And all those asian veges and mediterranean sauces

[James Deuce]

Tesla's design was for power transmission via RF.Plasma was not involved

Yes it was. The RF was a localised experiment. Wardclyffe towers projecting an arc of plasma up through the stratosphere and pinging off the ionosphere. Inter-Continental power transmission. Man was a genius.

[Jamezo]

Ah yes, I was confusing it with radiative RF power transmission (which is woefully ineffective).

Has anybody successfully demonstrated ionospheric transmission?

[Lou Girardin]

It's interesting that a 'clean, green' country like NZ is using the dirtiest methods of power generation. Hydro power aside, but that is less than environmentally friendly too.
We should be using nuclear generation already, but when the NZ public cling to their anti-nuclear fetish at all costs, it'll never happen.
Still, if they realise that the whole anti-nuclear issue was just a ploy to divert attention from the New Right take-over in the 80's, then they'll have to admit to themselves that they were truly shafted by Lange, Clark and Co.And admitting the truth would never do in NZ.

[James Deuce]

Has anybody successfully demonstrated ionospheric transmission?

There's this problem with the amount of air traffic in the stratosphere now.

But, one of the side effects is ozone production.