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Nuclear Power/Questions Answered by Expert Steve Nelson
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Radiation | 1/11/2012 |
| Q: I recently received several books from friends from Japan. Although I was very happy about the ... A: You're partly confusing (don't worry, most people do) radioactive material with radiation itself, ... | |
| Tungsten Conduct Rods | 1/2/2012 |
| Q: Would it be possible to use Tungsten Rods to conduct heat from magma chambers? since, what little ... A: This is basically what we call geothermal energy. It can be extracted from anywhere in the Earth's ... | |
| man made or natural disasters | 9/21/2011 |
| Q: how intense would an explosion or other kind of shock have to be to breach the 6 foot steel and ... A: While I am not an engineer, I'm a physicist, I can help answer this one to an extent. To an extent ... | |
| industrial accidents | 9/21/2011 |
| Q: how dangerous is an industrial accident at a nuclear power plant that does not directly involve the ... A: This is much like your previous question, almost impossible to answer. You never mentioned what ... | |
| Nuclear waste | 9/21/2011 |
| Q: at what levels are strontium, nickel-63, and tritium no longer safe for people in the general area ... A: That depends on a ridiculous number of factors. Such as: who lives there? What is their water ... | |
| Safe to travel? | 3/14/2011 |
| Q: Is a 3 mth pregnant woman safe to travel to USA now? Given Japan Nuclear reactor facing a melt down ... A: Of course she is. And the "meltdown problem" in Japan is vastly overblown, though it does highlight ... | |
| thermohydraulic core design | 1/21/2010 |
| Q: Nelson, i am Master student and i need your help answering the followinga)Explain the Principles of ... A: Your question involves textbooks worth of explanation and a course or two in upper-level nuclear ... | |
| Can the use of nuclear energy be justified? | 9/28/2009 |
| Q: Can the use of nuclear energy be justified? What are the facts, stastistics & case studies regarding ... A: Of course it can, or we wouldn't use it. Since you asked a question with such a massive scope, I'm ... | |
| Uranium | 6/10/2009 |
| Q: if we make electricity from 10gram of uranium instead of making an atomic bomb so how long this ... A: What is 109 Uranium? By what process are you making electricity, in a reactor? Reactors and bombs ... | |
| nuclear fusion | 3/12/2009 |
| Q: What are environmental impacts of fusion? A: There are few compared to other power sources. Fusion produces minimal nuclear waste compared to ... | |
| Aneutronic fusion -- is a turbine better than direct-conversion? | 3/10/2009 |
| Q: I am posting a follow-up question to a discussion we had on July 2nd of '08. It is here: ... A: Hydrogen-boron fusion is at least 30 years away as a power source, in my opinion. D-T fusion will ... | |
| Aneutronic fusion -- is a turbine better than direct-conversion? | 3/10/2009 |
| Q: I am posting a follow-up question to a discussion we had on July 2nd of '08. It is here: ... A: 60 Hz, not directly, but there's no reason you'd need to do that. You'd need to extract power via ... | |
| nuclear power | 2/21/2009 |
| Q: should nuclear power be banned? A: Well, you get far more radiation from coal-fired power plants (radon released from burning the coal ... | |
| 400 nm laser pumped by aneutronic fusion -- possible? | 11/30/2008 |
| Q: Is it physically-possible to design and build a 400 nm laser that is directly-"pumped" by aneutronic ... A: When you're talking about laser power of that magnitude, the wavelength doesn't matter as much as ... | |
| 400 nm laser pumped by aneutronic fusion -- possible? | 11/30/2008 |
| Q: Is it physically-possible to design and build a 400 nm laser that is directly-"pumped" by aneutronic ... A: I know what a pump is, but thanks for the clarification. :) Aneutronic fusion is a theoretical (in ... | |
| Questions about aneutronic laser fusion. | 7/2/2008 |
| Q: Is it possible to fuse hydrogen and boron using a laser that emit 400 nm wavelength light? If so, ... A: The National Ignition Facility uses lasers of close to that wavelength (350 nm), 192 of them, with a ... | |
| Values of Half Thickness | 1/15/2008 |
| Q: first of all i want to inform you that i have very little knowledge about radiations and stuff like ... A: First, vacuum is the absence of matter. It will block sound and direct heat transfer, because these ... | |
| Is neutron-neutron fusion easier to facilitate than proton-proton fusion? | 12/27/2007 |
| Q: Neutron-neutron fusion is an example of nuclear fusion because neutrons are nucleons. Is it possible ... A: Easier to fuse, yes, but the dineutron is unbound. Unless you could somehow get one of them to ... | |
| Will aneutronic fusion power ever be possible? | 12/16/2007 |
| Q: Will aneutronic fusion on earth ever be possible? In aneutronic fusion, no more than 1% total energy ... A: Slide 63 in this presentation on fusion http://www.slideshare.net/omar/nuclear-fusion-31590/ shows ... | |
| Will aneutronic fusion power ever be possible? | 12/16/2007 |
| Q: Will aneutronic fusion on earth ever be possible? In aneutronic fusion, no more than 1% total energy ... A: Fascinating question, one of the best I see here. Possible? Absolutely. As a power source it's ... | |
Nuclear Power
Answers by Expert:
Steve Nelson
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I'm currently at a branch of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin working on an advanced nuclear reactor. Generation IV nuclear reactors. Radiation safety. Nuclear fusion.
Experience
Working on a Generation IV nuclear reactor in the design stages right now. Doctoral research on stellar nuclear fusion reactions.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in physics (nuclear physics), Duke University.
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