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Dec 15, 2023

World’s first Generation IV nuclear reactor gets operational in China

Posted by in categories: engineering, nuclear energy

The reactor uses tiny balls of fuel and heats gas to generate electricity.


In what can be termed a significant achievement in the development of next-generation nuclear reactor technology, China claims to have successfully commissioned the world’s first Generation IV commercial nuclear reactor.

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Dec 14, 2023

Newly developed material gulps down hydrogen, spits it out, protects fusion reactor walls

Posted by in categories: engineering, nuclear energy, physics

University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have used a spray coating technology to produce a new workhorse material that can withstand the harsh conditions inside a fusion reactor.

The advance, detailed in a paper published recently in the journal Physica Scripta, could enable more efficient compact fusion reactors that are easier to repair and maintain.

“The fusion community is urgently looking for new manufacturing approaches to economically produce large plasma-facing components in fusion reactors,” says Mykola Ialovega, a postdoctoral researcher in and engineering physics at UW–Madison and lead author on the paper. “Our technology shows considerable improvements over current approaches. With this research, we are the first to demonstrate the benefits of using cold spray coating technology for fusion applications.”

Dec 12, 2023

Microsoft Training AI to Do Paperwork to Build Nuclear Power Plants

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, robotics/AI

Microsoft is looking to accelerate the regulatory approval process for setting up new nuclear power plants using AI.

Dec 12, 2023

Helicity Space ignites deep space nuclear fusion engine with new funds

Posted by in categories: chemistry, nuclear energy, space travel

Fusion-powered engines might drastically reduce travel time to the Moon and Mars.


California-based startup Helicity Space has successfully raised $5 million in a recent seed funding round.

Prominent space companies Airbus Ventures, TRE Ventures, Voyager Space Holdings, E2MC Space, Urania Ventures, and Gaingels have all invested in Helicity, according to a press release.

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Dec 12, 2023

Cosmic nuclear fission seen for 1st time in ‘incredibly profound’ discovery

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, space

“The only plausible way this can arise among different stars is if there is a consistent process operating during the formation of the heavy elements,” Mumpower said. “This is incredibly profound and is the first evidence of fission operating in the cosmos, confirming a theory we proposed several years ago.”

“As we’ve acquired more observations, the cosmos is saying, ‘hey, there’s a signature here, and it can only come from fission.’”

Neutron stars are created when massive stars reach the end of their fuel supplies necessary for intrinsic nuclear fusion processes, which means the energy that has been supporting them against the inward push of their own gravity ceases. As the outer layers of these dying stars are blown away, the stellar cores with masses between one and two times that of the sun collapse into a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers).

Dec 11, 2023

Laboratory for Laser Energetics to Lead New Inertial Fusion Energy Research Hub

Posted by in categories: innovation, nuclear energy

Federal funding brings together experts to chart a viable path to realizing fusion energy as a clean power source.

The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) has received a four-year, $10 million award from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Science (FES) to lead a national research hub dedicated to advancing inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology.

The LLE-led inertial fusion energy hub—named IFE-COLoR, which stands for Inertial Fusion Energy-Consortium on LPI (laser-plasma interaction) Research—is one of only three such hubs in the nation selected by the DOE through competitive peer review. The award is part of a recent DOE initiative to stimulate IFE research and development by building on the momentum of scientists’ breakthrough in achieving ignition, or a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain, last year.

Dec 9, 2023

Rolls Royce plans ‘120-inch-long’ mini nuclear reactor for Moon outpost

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, space

Rolls-Royce displayed a conceptual model design of a nuclear Space Micro-Reactor at the UK Space Conference that may one day power Moon settlers.

Dec 8, 2023

The world’s only floating NPP Akademik Lomonosov

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Akademik Lomonosov — is the world’s only floating nuclear power plant, located at the Russian port of Pevek, Chukotka. A nuclear FPU is equipped with two KLT-…

Dec 8, 2023

NASA unveils nuclear-powered Cryobot mission concept to hunt alien life

Posted by in categories: alien life, nuclear energy

NASA is currently investigating the feasibility of a “cryobot” probe that would drill through the ice crusts of moons such as Europa and Enceladus to directly detect liquid water and discover the possibility of life beyond Earth.


Apart from Mars, scientists are focusing their efforts on two other candidates: Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Compelling evidence indicates the potential existence of subsurface oceans beneath thick layers of water ice on these icy moons.

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Dec 7, 2023

6 US Cities Most Likely at Risk in a Nuclear Attack

Posted by in categories: existential risks, nuclear energy

When it comes to nightmare scenarios for the United States, a nuclear attack from a foreign power has to rank among the worst possible choices. While the likelihood of such a strike is low, that does not stop experts from trying to prepare for any possibility. A story by Business Insider lists the following six cities as the most likely to be at risk in the vent of a future nuclear attack on the United States:

1) Chicago, Illinois.

2) Houston, Texas

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