Port-A-Nuke

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are designing a self-contained, tamper-resistant nuclear reactor that can be transported and installed anywhere in the world. In 'US plans portable nuclear power plants,' New Scientist writes that the sealed reactors would last 30 years and deliver between 10 and 100 megawatts. The largest version would be about 15 meters high and 3 meters wide, with a weight of about 500 tons, allowing for transportation by ships or very large trucks. The DOE thinks that this kind of nuclear reactor -- named SSTAR for 'small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor' -- would help to deliver nuclear energy to developing countries while significantly reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation associated with the use of nuclear power. What do you think of this idea? Is it a good one or a crazy one? Leaving a nuclear reactor in a developing country which can potentially become unstable during the 30 years of service of the reactor doesn't seem to be terribly safe. Read more before deciding. Anyway, there will be no prototypes before 2015."

I've got mine on pre-order.

[inertia187]

Not a bad idea. And as for becoming unstable, I'm sure it's simple enough to bury the reactor such that it becomes it's own disposal site.

I'll take the 10 megawatts model for my house. I'm sure it's no bigger than an asteroid the size of a VW.

Followup Slashdot stories

[Anonymous Coward]

Hacking a Port-A-Nuke

Powering Laptop With a Port-A-Nuke

Building Your Own Port-A-Nuke

Now a Porn-A-Nuke?

PORN!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

PORN = PORtable Nuke reactor. Lest see if I can make it past the slashcode with that heading. Ok, so I did...

I wonder if they require an armada of security on this thing (thing could mean slashcode or the Reactor :)

Tamper Resistant?

[Anti_Climax]

Is it just me, or does this make you think of Nuclear Reactor DRM?

wow

[WormholeFiend]

What are the chances that I'll be able to retrofit a 2005 Hummer with one of those babies?

Ultimate UPS

[HangingChad]

Power out? Forget that sissy battery powered UPS, just pull out my nuclear porta power backup generator. The ultimate sysad gadget.

Wonder if it has a sticker on the side that says: WARNING DO NOT DISPOSE IN TRASH.

Now a Porn-A-Nuke?

[Wrexs0ul]

Now a Porn-A-Nuke?

Also known as a very dirty bomb.

-Matt

Re:wearable device

[Captain Fallout]

Yep, one little crack in the reactor core shielding and in three weeks you get to look like Yoda!

Re:One Dirty Bomb

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, just make sure you're not doing it in Chico, CA. There's a $500 fine for detonating a nuclear device within the city limits.

Re:We've been seeing a lot of this "safe" nukes st

[dirvish]

Won't a mini-reactor have mini-waste. Is a small amount of waste manageable?

Re:wearable device

[Oliver Wendell Jones]

"It just occured to me that each of is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back..."

Re:One Dirty Bomb

[Anonymous Coward]

I trust this means stable and reasonably secure developing country. Some of us have learned some things in the last few years.

I don't trust the United States to be stable for the next 30 years.

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[the chao goes mu]

Wouldn't "no bigger than an asteroid the size of a VW" be more simply stated as "no bigger than a VW"?

Or is this some sort of demonostration of the fact that size is transitive? A=B, B=C Thus A=C?

You could have just as easily said "no bigger than a block of cheese the size of a pile of matchsticks the size of an asteroid the size of a VW".

Word is...

[StevenHenderson]

that you'll need one of these to power Nvidia's next video card. :)

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[WormholeFiend]

not to mention the light fixtures and hydroponic systems required to grow pot in a basement...

oh and thanks for reminding me to feed the lizard.

Re:Duplicate story....

[gcaseye6677]

Yes, but the earlier story didn't drive traffic to Roland's blog, so it had to be posted again. He pays Slashdot good money to pimp his blog so they're going to make sure it gets linked to at least once a day, even if it means posting duped stories.

Re:wow

[arglesnaf]

What, so you can supplement the combustion engine and raise your fuel efficency from 7 to 10 MPG?

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[mustangsal66]

Most applications do not need 1 GHz processors.

You haven't played Doom 3 yet have you?

Re:As a former nuclear navy reactor operator

[Grayputer]

-----
How much did it cost to operate the nuclear reactor with the (hopefully) strict safety and security measurements and the corresponding training of its crew?
----

Significantly less than it would have to guard an extension cord that long :).

You forgot to insult him.

[JudgeFurious]

The alarming drop in standards I've seen on Slashdot lately really bothers me. Insults are critical to the Slashdot environment.

At this rate we're going to see a complete lack of insults within...oh.. ...Oh, nevermind. We should be good on insults until 2231 give or take a few years.

But still it's no excuse to go slacking man. Now get back on here, call him an asshat and straighten up your postings pronto.

Re:On the next episode of Trading Spaces!

[Jhan]

Power Strip Wainscotting! I love it! I think I'm going to redo my home office with it!

Dog knows I could use it. I love the idea, and I love the word. Wainscotting ... Wainscotting ... Wainscotting ... sounds like a little Dorset village, doesn't it? Wainscotting.

(Cut to the village of Wains Cotting. A woman rushes out of a house.) Woman: We've been mentioned on the internet!

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[Juvenall]

Most applications do not need 1 GHz processors.

Wait, you're telling me I don't need the 3.2Ghz P4 with "Hyper-Threading" to power my porno slideshow screensaver?!?

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[GOD_ALMIGHTY]

My fiance needs to be able to get a light on immediatly when I go into one of those, as its the only thing that snaps me out of them. Considering that I have been know to both do damage to the room, and to attack her during a night-terror, we both want to have no delay in getting that light on.

Greenpeace called, they made an exception for you for this one instance. Just don't let it happen again.

Excuse the sarcasm, but dear lord! I thought you were going to bring up the fact that it's near impossible to find compact fluorescents that can be used in dimmer switches. Which is where the remaining incandescent in my house go. Now I almost feel guilted into giving up those too. Thanks!

Re:As a former nuclear navy reactor operator

[kindbud]

I can tell you that US Navy subs have had few catastophic disasters, and perhaps none at all for a long time.

That's pretty funny. You know enough to know that you probably don't know everything you think you know, but don't want us to know that.

"I can tell you that...."

See! He's on the inside. He's a former nuclear operator with the Navy (so am I, btw). I can tell you that they don't tell us everything. There was a funny myth circulating at the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando when I went thriough the training (it was training, not school), and that is that if you assembled 100 nuke school graduates, together they'd have enough expertise to build a nuclear plan from scratch.

Ha! Not a chance.

"...and perhaps none at all for a long time."

Hedging your bet! tee-hee... You know they didn't tell you everything, yet you can't resist posting on this thread from some imagined position of authority. Heh.

Btw, what year did you graduate from Nuke School? I went in 1983.

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[raygundan]

I have several that are instant-on, although in your circumstance, I think I'd want a redundant array of various bulbs and circuits with backup batteries and generators of various types, a drawer full of glowsticks and flashlights, and a gas fireplace with an instant ignition.

I can't remember the brand off the top of my head-- it's been six years since I bought them. I also have several dimmable ones.

What I haven't been able to find is dimmable G30 or G40 decorator globe replacements. I have a 10-bulb light bar in the bathroom I would like to cut the power use on.

Re:On the next episode of Trading Spaces!

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Of course- if Doug picks this up, he'll match it with woven sheets of aluminum on the top and padded black rubber on the bottom, for that modern look...

People who have watched Trading Spaces will agree, we hate Doug.

People in Portland, OR who had Doug redesign their living room into a home theater, complete with suspended TV stand that fell off the ceiling a week later and destroyed their TV set REALLY hate Doug.

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[sunking2]

Or stop being such a sissy. Night terrors, give me a break. I think they should change the bulbs and spend the money saved on a shrink 8-).

Re:I've got mine on pre-order.

[FlopEJoe]

Wouldn't "no bigger than an asteroid the size of a VW" be more simply stated as "no bigger than a VW"?

I donno... I get confused when comparisons aren't made in terms of Library of Congresses.

Re:One Dirty Bomb

[grozzie2]

Yeah, just make sure you're not doing it in Chico, CA. There's a $500 fine for detonating a nuclear device within the city limits.

It's obvious this city ordinance is very effective, there haven't been any nuclear detonations there. They should put this law on the books in all cities, then everybody will be safe....