Nuclear powered cars

[Furi]

Why not have static nuclear reactors placed regionally, you could perhaps then transmit this "power" via conductive wires to peoples garages (and even their houses!!1!), where they could perhaps store this "power" in a suitable hi power density storage devices. These storage devices could be used to drive cars I suppose, and I am sure the efficiency would increase quite a bit by having a nice big noocleary thing, and also by having a big reactor looked after by all kinds of technicians and other sciency types (to quote one of my favorite safety posers) "You too can help prevent nuclear accidents",

Damnit just build more nuke plants, I need to tap the power for my giant discombobulator ray projector (I also need to find a volcanic island, but that is for another project)

 

[soylent]

Not really, it's mainly the cost that's the problem. Nuclear powered ships are more expensive both to build and to run, and they don't really have any advantages that would be useful to civilians. Being able to run a long time with no outside contact and being quiet and hard to detect are great if you're a submarine in enemy territory, but fairly pointless if you're a car ferry.

That may be about to change.

Small, passively safe, high temperature gas cooled reactors like the pebble beds being developed in South Africa and China are in just the right power range(10-100 MW) for large ships and they don't require highly enriched fuel. The chinese have repeatedly put their pebble beds through complete loss of coolant without any intervention or active safety mechanisms whatsoever; it's a thoroughly unexiting and uneventful spectacle to watch as the reactor heats up, goes subcritical and passive heat removal is adequate to keep the reactor cool.

Look at the specs and requirements for a huge container ship like the Emma Maersk: 11 000 containers with an average weight of 14 tonnes each, quarter of a mile long, 82 MW diesel engine weighing 2 300 tonnes(several stories tall, cylinders big enough to completely enclose a person, ladders down into the crank case, total displacement of 25 cubic meters.). Roughly 50% efficient it consumes a little over a gallon of diesel per second at maximum output. There's also 30 MW of generating capacity for electrical power from generators.

A pebble bed reactor would be a significant one-time cost; but the fuel is cheap and diesel is not and it'd be years before you'd have to refuel.

 

[aquitaine]

The issue with making a nuclear powered car engine is that fission doesn't scale down particularly well. Even the Toshiba "micro" nuclear reactor is 20 feet X 10 feet and no doubt weighs several tons.

 

[Hindmost]

The issue with making a nuclear powered car engine is that fission doesn't scale down particularly well. Even the Toshiba "micro" nuclear reactor is 20 feet X 10 feet and no doubt weighs several tons.

Actually, reactors can scale down very well due to the energy density of uranium...a 20x10 ft reactor is quite large. A commercial plant with a 1000 MW electric output has a core that is about a 14 foot cube.

A small reactor still needs a fair amout of support from other components that are too big to put in a car. It would be a shielding nightmare.

glenn

 

[aquitaine]

A small reactor still needs a fair amout of support from other components that are too big to put in a car. It would be a shielding nightmare.

Exactly, which is why it doesn't scale down very easily.

 

[Gravy]

Mechanic: "Well, there's yer problem: yer core's melting down!"
(Pushes down on front bumper)
"Looks like yer shocks are shot, too. And I think I heard yer left front wheel bearing going when you drove up. Awful long way back to Los Angle-ees. Be a miracle if you make it 'cross the desert. Geez, lookit these belts! You'd better book a room upstairs. Tell my cousin 'Ed said to give you the special.' Christ! I forgot to patch the holes in my lead suit."

 

[BenBurch]

Mechanic: "Well, there's yer problem: yer core's melting down!"
(Pushes down on front bumper)
"Looks like yer shocks are shot, too. And I think I heard yer left front wheel bearing going when you drove up. Awful long way back to Los Angle-ees. Be a miracle if you make it 'cross the desert. Geez, lookit these belts! You'd better book a room upstairs. Tell my cousin 'Ed said to give you the special.' Christ! I forgot to patch the holes in my lead suit."

Its amusing to think that so many SF writers got it wrong. Heinlein wasn't totally correct with "Blowups Happen" but it certainly was a better speculation than the people who thought that we'd have atomic lawnmowers...

 

[Hindmost]

Exactly, which is why it doesn't scale down very easily.

Small thermionic reactors could be used to power cars without any real shielding problems. Its just the radioactive material would be difficult to deal with from a practical standpoint. Using Pu 238 or Sr 90 would work fine.

glenn