Bringing Nuclear Power to Mars - Frank H. Shu (SETI Talks 2016)
Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 29 Ιουλ 2016
Establishing
a lunar base is probably a wise first first step to colonizing Mars,
and colonizing Mars will be a giant leap forward for humankind to travel
to the stars. We begin our discussion by noting that the bare minimum
for sustaining life on the Moon exists in the water brought by comets to
the bottoms of some lunar craters. Electrolysis of this dirty water
can produce clean oxygen (and hydrogen) for the lunar base, A reliable
source of primary energy is needed for such tasks, but anywhere on the
surface of the Moon, there is no sunlight two weeks out of four, and no
wind whatsoever. Nuclear power is the default option, just as is the
case of naval submarines where the crews need to live and work in closed
environments submerged under the water of the ocean for months at a
time. However, the light water reactors of naval submarines are not a
good choice for environments that lack large bodies of water, and we
argue, as first realized by a former NASA Engineer, Kirk Sorensen, that
molten salt reactors, of the type invented by Oak Ridge National Lab in
the 1960s, are much better suited for a lunar base, or for that matter, a
Mars colony.
Dr. Shu will then discuss his patented design for the
best possible two-fluid molten-salt breeder-reactor (2F-MSBR) that one
could build, using thorium that can be mined locally without requiring
shipments from mother Earth. He will close by considering two spin-off
applications:
(1) saving civilization on Earth from the worst ravages of climate change by scaled-up 2F-MSBRs;
(2)
using the fission fragments of related nuclear fission reactions for
ion-propulsion that produces rockets two to three orders of magnitude
faster than achievable with chemical rockets, making possible, perhaps, a
first generation of starships.
a lunar base is probably a wise first first step to colonizing Mars,
and colonizing Mars will be a giant leap forward for humankind to travel
to the stars. We begin our discussion by noting that the bare minimum
for sustaining life on the Moon exists in the water brought by comets to
the bottoms of some lunar craters. Electrolysis of this dirty water
can produce clean oxygen (and hydrogen) for the lunar base, A reliable
source of primary energy is needed for such tasks, but anywhere on the
surface of the Moon, there is no sunlight two weeks out of four, and no
wind whatsoever. Nuclear power is the default option, just as is the
case of naval submarines where the crews need to live and work in closed
environments submerged under the water of the ocean for months at a
time. However, the light water reactors of naval submarines are not a
good choice for environments that lack large bodies of water, and we
argue, as first realized by a former NASA Engineer, Kirk Sorensen, that
molten salt reactors, of the type invented by Oak Ridge National Lab in
the 1960s, are much better suited for a lunar base, or for that matter, a
Mars colony.
Dr. Shu will then discuss his patented design for the
best possible two-fluid molten-salt breeder-reactor (2F-MSBR) that one
could build, using thorium that can be mined locally without requiring
shipments from mother Earth. He will close by considering two spin-off
applications:
(1) saving civilization on Earth from the worst ravages of climate change by scaled-up 2F-MSBRs;
(2)
using the fission fragments of related nuclear fission reactions for
ion-propulsion that produces rockets two to three orders of magnitude
faster than achievable with chemical rockets, making possible, perhaps, a
first generation of starships.
Κατηγορία
Άδεια
- Τυπική άδεια YouTube
ANAΡΤΗΣΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ YOUTUBE 4/8/2016
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