patrick.net

TOB,

Just remember that Russia had very bad reactor designs. They used a water cooled graphic moderated reactor. This is very bad because the reactor can be placed in a configuration where reactor power can have a positive feedback.

All US power reactors have negative reactor power coefficients. There are several of these; moderator temperature coefficient, and Doppler broadening (fuel temp coeff). These are the heavy hitters. Because of our designs, the reactors will go down in power when the temps increase. You can actually increase power simply by lowering the operating temperature of the coolant. When the temp increases, the power output goes down.

Another feature we have is that is impossible to put our reactors in a prompt critical situation (Chernobyl) It is more complicated than I want to get into, but simply put, our reactors can't blow up from a nuclear explosion. Those reactors are reserved for being only on the tips of missiles.

The Original Bankster:

I have been reading Pat’s blog for years. Not until recently I started to read lies posted. You have been misinforming this blog about the Middle East. My advice to you is to stick to the topic of Housing Bubble. The Link you posted about Israeli Army is misleading. Here is the Truth about this terrorist army:

http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2006/07/israeli-children-sign-their-missiles_18.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/685792.stm

http://www.revisionisthistory.org/palestine52.html

TOB,

*Ok definition time. Critical Nuclear Reactor means that the reactor can maintain a neutron population over time. The combination of promt neutrons and delayed neutrons (neutrons from the waste that are emitted about 12- 80 seconds after the fission event) keep the neutron population constant. A critical reactor is a good thing because it means the power output is stable. These delayed neutrons are emitted at lower energies*

I do know of many experimental reactor ideas that use a neutron source to keep a subcritical reactor design critical. The problem with some of the more exotic reactors is you must have higher neutron energies to make the fuel fission. This means that the reactor can't use what is called delayed neutrons to keep the reactor critical. Reactors are unstable if you use prompt neutrons alone (i.e. bombs). You can build a subcritical reactor out of these exotic fuels and put an independent neutron source in to make up for the lost neutrons over time. This may be what you are thinking of.

I heard Israel has a well-run society.

Moderated.

I am still wondering why we even discuss the Semitic People of SW Asia. I simply dont care about them.

They have been running around for thousands of years cutting eachothers heads off. I think we might be better off if we simply end the fighting once and for all by turning that shithole part of the world into a field of ash and glass. We could then decon the glass and drill through it.

Time for a new thread?

Perhaps something like "Buy-and-hold = Buy-and-get-hosed?" :)

*Sarcasm on*

The difference between Americans and the Semites is we get the job done and don't drag the fight on for centuries. Do you notice how the American Indians are now either drunk on fire water or taking your bets?

*Sarcasm off*

They may not like me, it is ok because I don't like them. I don't like anyone who takes my money so they can make trouble. Am I supposed to feel bad that the Germans killed millions of them and we are supposed to keep giving money to them to make it all better? This sounds just like what the blacks in America say when they want a payoff for slavery. Fuck them, I don't like them because they are sucking off our tit still. Make peace or fight, I don't care. Just don't expect me to finance that shit anymore.

I am certain they would make something work when they were forced to do so. I think they can take care of themselves. They kicked ass in the 1960s against several nations.

Why should you care what other people think? You should have faith in what you believe in.

God why did I get dragged in! Dont feed the trolls! I was so bad to feed the troll. Just dont kick me out like the Zoo did when I fed the animal some tasty snack :)

TOB I am not refering to you as the troll:)

Bap33,

Speaking of offers, I made my last counter offer for a piece of land near my workplace. It is an all cash offer for about 8 Acres of land. I just accepted the sellers last counter offer with their price and that they cover the closing costs.

Not a bad deal considering it is about what I wanted to spend in the beggining. I figure by buying it cash and breaking off a piece to build a home, I can protect most of it from other people. If I build it will be only on 1.5 acres of it and with 20% down for the construction loan :)

I figure by buying it cash

Now that is sweet music! I just heard on ABC news that Iraq does not have a mortgage meltdown problem, as they do not have mortages. They pay cash for houses. Their stock market is currently rising.

nutty,

That was a great blurb on nuke power. Would there be any problem with initial uranium supply if the US and world were to ratchet up the use of nuclear power?

Headset,

Uranium is short not because we don't have it, but because we don't produce enough. Uranium prices have sky rocketed in the last few years.

It was only a decade ago that we bought old war heads from Russia and adulterated it with depleted uranium to make reactor fuel. Back then prices were super low. Give it time and we will reprocess and make more fuel from ores. The fuel assemblies now at the bottom of the pools still contain lots of fuel. You cant burn them because they have too many poisons in them.

One more thing. Why not make thorium into fuel? We can transmute Throium into Uranium 233 which is a fuel. We make more fuel than we consume with this fuel cycle. It does have some nasty gammas associated with it, but technology can get us around it.

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

thenuttyneutron, Malcolm,

On the AC/DC power issue for off-the-grid. Solar cells can charge a battery array using the cell's DC output. But as you say, any generator type device powered by wind/water would best be AC and thus would require a rectifier to charge the batteries. Unless, of course, someone invents a greatly improved dynamo.

I disagree with the idea that the off the grid home is best served by using an inverter to power AC appliances from the batteries. Efficiency is the key to make off-the-grid work, you don't generate enough power to have the luxury of wasteful devices. If you use DC appliances, you eliminate the waste of converting DC to AC for your house wiring, then from the AC back to DC by your appliance's power supply. Wouldn't you waste about 60% of the battery power just by channeling it through both an inverter and a rectifier before it does any useful work?

I know that for a true off-the-grid to work, we will need cheaper batteries and a supply of DC appliances. But we already have DC powered stereos, DVD players, TVs, computers, and refrigerators, thanks to the auto/RV industry. Increased demand for DC appliances from a surge in off-the-grid users will further increase thier availability. Current development of hybrids may bring the cheaper battery technology, and maybe even improved DC motors to allow for more efficient washers, well pumps etc.

And nutty, I believe the AC winning over DC had more to do with AC being far more efficient to travel over long distances. DC may have a bigger "bite", but when is the last time your heard of someone shocked by thier car? After all, people operate auto electronics quite often, and autos have a very robustly juiced 12 volt DC system. Hybrids even more so.

A couple of comments. First, let's get one fact on the table which helps the discussion. The inverter loss converting DC to AC is less than 8%. Basically it is neglibile. Second, no one said it has to be all or nothing. You can run two circuits off the battery bank, one for a DC voltage regulator for you DC electronics, and one for a small $200 inverter. Each situation is unique and if you mainly have DC items then knock yourself out.

To clarify DC, the reason you don't get shocked by it in your car is because most applications are 12 or 24 volts. Simply put, that is not enough punch to complete a circuit through human tissue. I believe it is above 35 volts DC that you have the potential for being shocked, and then depending on the amps (doesn't take much after you have the potential voltage) you will get lit up. Your car battery has more than enough potential energy to kill you if you step up the voltage.

Disclaimer - I am not an electrician

I defer to NuttyNeutron on how best to charge a battery from an AC source. The alternator in your car does this but I am not sure exactly how the current is converted to be stored. I imagine it is just like the AC adapter that powers your DC electronics from a wall outlet. I have no idea what the energy loss is.

There will always be 12 VDC devices. The next question is which devices have the most options/choices. I am sure that you will probably find 100x more things to use AC power. In many appliances, the power supply converts the AC into DC anyway so maybe you can find the same item in DC variety. Take a look at your computer's power supply for a good example of this.

I think you will find that there are plenty of packaged units with a rectifier/inverter setup with batteries as a backup. The best part about it is the uninterrupted power. If you use AC to power battery chargers that trickle charge a battery bank and have most of the charger power get inverted to 120 VAC, you will have a great setup. Also look at getting low energy items like fluorescent bulbs. One of the best ways to reduce electrical use is getting the right home. I want to get an ICF home. These homes use Lego blocks of Styrofoam with 6inch steel rebar concrete as the structure. They are efficient and act as a thermal battery. The temp does not swing much even with the A/heater off.

Just be warned about the cost. You will pay about 20x more for electricity if you use solar. The wind turbines are a lot cheaper and probably most reliable. I have a hard time finding a day where the wind does not blow where I live. In the SW solar may make more sense.

All I can tell you is do a discounted cash flow on all your options. Target the life expectancy of a turbine or solar array for 10-15 years and run with it.

I plan to one day get tied into a gas line to power a small Honda ICE engine generator. I want to tie that into an ABT unit with a small battery backup for the few seconds it takes to get the engine to rated speed. I would only power an emergency bus within my house.

One of my more crazy ideas would be to get some land under the 435KV high lines and steal power with my own coils via induction. I would call them mycrazy looking lightning arresters :)

We can transmute Throium into Uranium 233

You can create an isotope of Uranium from Thorium? I am not that current on my physics, by this means you can bump proton count by two in each nucleus in a hunk or thorium? Thorium has a high enough atomic number that adding protons would require a great deal of energy. I thought nuclear fusion could was possible only with lighter elements such as hydrogen or helium, and that fusing elements heavier than iron took rather than released energy. I do not doubt you, I am just impressed with the progress.

Let me know when you can manipulate the proton count of common elements to 79 :)

Like an electric train gets it's power from just reaching up close to the lines? That's pretty clever. I don't think they could accuse you of stealing power if you don't acutally tap into the lines. Never thought of that one.

I also concur that a windmill is more efficient than solar but for city homes probably not really practical. A grid tied windmill is just as viable as solar for net metering purposes.

The power is converted into one another with ease. There are some losses, but I think you will find that it would not bother you.

Rectifiers use capacitors to make DC out of AC. Inverters also use capacitors to make AC. Just make sure there are no EMPs to fry all the circuitry in the country.

AC is just so easy to make with a rotating turbine. You don’t have to flip the rotating field magnet back and forth. These babies are not like the radio shack toys you probably played with. The rotors of the generator for most power plants have collector rings to power several large EM magnets on the rotor. This rotor spins at 1800 or 3600 RPM depending of the number of magnetic poles the rotor has.

The stator part (non moving part that connects to the grid) has a bit of power taken off to power the exciter. The exciter converts AC into DC so it can be put on the collector rings of the rotor and flashes the field. This is how you get your rotating magnetic field in the machine to make electricity in the stator. The electric field is static. When you connect the stator to a transformer and send the juice to the world you can make lots of money.

Malcolm,

It ain't the voltage, its the amps that zap. A Van Degraff generator (that thing in physics class that you turn the wheel and see lightning like current flow between the two balls) generates millions of volts and you can put your hand in the "lightning" and barely feel it, as the amps are barely measurable. Auto fuses range from 5 to 30 amps. !2 volts at 15 amps will be a nasty shock, not a little tingle.

Oh transmutation goes like this.

Throium 232 absorbs a neutron and becomes Th 233. The Th233 is very unstable. It beta decays into Pa 233. This means that one of the neutrons in the nucleus is now a proton. The beta ejected is the electron part of the old neutron.

The Pa 233 will beta decay again into U 233.

It is similar to fusion from the fact that by being absorbed in the nucleous, the mass of that neutron is reduced and converted to binding energy. Each later decay releases some heat. It is more a reshuffle of the nucleons by adding a neutron. Neutrons require very little kinetic energy to be absorbed because neutrons don't have a charge to overcome to get in the atom.

http://wwwndc.tokai-sc.jaea.go.jp/cgi-bin/selchart2004?Z=tH&A=232

Find Th 232 add a neutron by going to Th 233. Then click on Th 233 to follow the decay chain to U233. Notice the halflives on each isotope.

One of my more crazy ideas would be to get some land under the 435KV high lines and steal power with my own coils via induction

Nice try. Induction is easily detectable. Even very mild forms such a inductive phone taps and even TV demodulation are routinely rooted out. The British have devices so sensitive that then can drive around, point the device at roof antennas of those addresses that have not bought a BBC license, and nail you for stealing TV signals.

You electric current stealing method actually puts a demand on the flow (much like an AC motor) and thus would make the the power company's generator a slight bit harder to turn.

Headset,

.1 ampres is enough to kill a human.

Headset,

LOL you think a 3.5 million horsepower machine moving 1000 tons of metal at 1800 RPM would notice my loading? They would see line losses before they found me :)

You could make certain isotopes of Mercury into gold with a good neutron flux. The problem is scale. 10^23 atoms per cm^3 and only a neutron flux of 10^12 at most. You can figure out the time required to make that all into gold :)

1 neutron for every 10^11 atoms of mercury! You would be better off making a star ship to catch astroids with gold in them already :)

Rectifiers use capacitors to make DC out of AC

You mean diodes. Some rectifier designs may have a capacitor in it as a filter, but the true work is done by diodes. And if your are thinking of a transformer/rectifier design. that is highly inefficient.

Then click on Th 233 to follow the decay chain to U233

I don't doubt you. My knowlege is too old for me to understand how an isotope of an element with 90 protons can decay into an isotope of an element with 92 protons.

HeadSet Says:
October 12th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
"Malcolm,
It ain’t the voltage, its the amps that zap. A Van Degraff generator (that thing in physics class that you turn the wheel and see lightning like current flow between the two balls) generates millions of volts and you can put your hand in the “lightning” and barely feel it, as the amps are barely measurable. Auto fuses range from 5 to 30 amps. !2 volts at 15 amps will be a nasty shock, not a little tingle."

Correct, I didn't say the voltage zaps. The voltage has to be high enough for the potential to cross the resistance. What you said is correct and not different than what I said, the reason the physics ball doesn't kill you is that the amps are almost nothing.

It can decay that way via beta decay. In the process a neutron becomes a proton and beta particle.

Headset, I am tired and typed that in error. diodes are wonderful electrical check valves that can make the DC. I do think however the rectifiers do use capacitors to do it. Don't make my head hurt by asking me to turn a sine wave into a DC signal and then back to a semisine signal :) It made my head hurt years ago.

If you reduce the voltage, the amps go up and that ball will kill you quite quickly.

Same way powerlines don't melt. The voltage is high and then stepped down. AMPs and Voltage are related to each other. You can lower one by raising the other.

This is proof that nuclear engineering is easier than EE. All I had to do was count neutrons and learn some crazy math that required me to get a minor in math. Some differtial equations, diffusion theory, and transport theory were easy to solve.

EE have to do an evil phaser dance to figure out what is going on in a circuit. I hear they even eat their young :o

It can decay that way via beta decay. In the process a neutron becomes a proton and beta particle.

I see, thus is stays a 233 isotope. I suppose that right after the U-233 is formed, it immediately experiences fission from collisions with any remaining neutrons?

I realize the "capacitor" verses "diode" was more a typo. That's why I wrote "you mean diodes" rather than "your mistaken."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-233

Read this for a good run through on the black magics of nuclear physics. This show the trick of turning stuff into other stuff. The true art of alchemy.

U233 has a longer half live than the daughter isotopes and will last a while. It will last long enough to ge given a chance to fission on its own when a neutron gets inside it nucleous.

Same way powerlines don’t melt. The voltage is high and then stepped down. AMPs and Voltage are related to each other. You can lower one by raising the other.

The reason power lines do not melt because resisitance is low. Heat generated by current flow is related to resistance. It is true that the step down transformer decreases the volts and increases the amps, but that is a side issue. If the power company feed 220 volts (what is delivered to the house "fusebox") into the line at the source, they would have a very short transmission distance. Think of the hose analogy. Open the nozzle and get high flow at low pressure. Can't squirt very far. Tighten the nozzle and you have less water flow (amps), but with enough pressure (volts) to squirt across the street.