Comments on: Nuclear aircraft add one more horror to the litany of air travel fears http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/28/nuclear-aircraft-add-one-more-horror-to-the-litany-of-air-travel-fears/ Gadgets, gear and computer hardware. Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:30:23 -0500 hourly 1 By: Блог Лайджа Ки » Nuclear Powered Planes Will Not Assure the Destruction of Humankind [Nuclear] http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/28/nuclear-aircraft-add-one-more-horror-to-the-litany-of-air-travel-fears/comment-page-1/#comment-943440 Блог Лайджа Ки » Nuclear Powered Planes Will Not Assure the Destruction of Humankind [Nuclear] Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:05:52 +0000 http://www.crunchgear.com/?p=50819#comment-943440 [...] While there are a few genuinely valid concerns we need to address before we actually let nuclear-powered planes take off—how to automatically jettison the reactor in case of a plane crash and what to do with spent fuel, for instance— there’s no reason why we shouldn’t at least hit the power button on research. [Times UK via Crunchgear] [...] [...] While there are a few genuinely valid concerns we need to address before we actually let nuclear-powered planes take off—how to automatically jettison the reactor in case of a plane crash and what to do with spent fuel, for instance— there’s no reason why we shouldn’t at least hit the power button on research. [Times UK via Crunchgear] [...]

]]> By: Gadget» Blog Archive » Nuclear Powered Planes Will Not Assure the Destruction of Humankind [Nuclear] http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/28/nuclear-aircraft-add-one-more-horror-to-the-litany-of-air-travel-fears/comment-page-1/#comment-943325 Gadget» Blog Archive » Nuclear Powered Planes Will Not Assure the Destruction of Humankind [Nuclear] Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:57:10 +0000 http://www.crunchgear.com/?p=50819#comment-943325 [...] While there are a few genuinely valid concerns we need to address before we actually let nuclear-powered planes take off—how to automatically jettison the reactor in case of a plane crash and what to do with spent fuel, for instance— there’s no reason why we shouldn’t at least hit the power button on research. [Times UK via Crunchgear] [...] [...] While there are a few genuinely valid concerns we need to address before we actually let nuclear-powered planes take off—how to automatically jettison the reactor in case of a plane crash and what to do with spent fuel, for instance— there’s no reason why we shouldn’t at least hit the power button on research. [Times UK via Crunchgear] [...]

]]> By: cesium http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/28/nuclear-aircraft-add-one-more-horror-to-the-litany-of-air-travel-fears/comment-page-1/#comment-943115 cesium Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:36:14 +0000 http://www.crunchgear.com/?p=50819#comment-943115 Fergit big nuke-powered airliners. It takes a lot of energy to lift one of those babies. Forget that they shouldn't physically be able to fly at all in the first place. The only reason we have ginormous Airbuses is that jet fuel is so cheap--oh, and the need to maximize the use of the runways, hubs, loading and unloading infrastructure, etc. Here's my solution, which needs only a micro-pile, just a few killowatts/sec: Dude! Where's my Flying Car!?(tm) to achieve the utopian dream of cheap individual flying machines, we need universal plug-in nuclear piles. These would be little shielded boxes (okay, maybe not-so little, but smaller than a dorm fridge) of just a few standard sizes: SMB-sized, house size, (flying) car sized. They're plug-n-play. Easier to change than a car battery. Well, maybe for the home/SMB sizes you need some plumbing, but it isn't any more complicated than what a typical nerd with a watercooled overclocked gaming rig has. Run it for a few years and then the guys in the hazmat suits (or not, I keep thinking of the ganga-smoking bro in Fifth Element loading up the power tube for the spaceship--classic! ...or...prophetic? hmmm?) they show up and swap out the cube for a new one. Easy lease payment plans for pennies on the Kw. Stack the used cubes up in a salt dome in Vegas, or, since they don't have to meet such a high output criteria as do the big-nuke rods, reallocate the remainder material into smaller and smaller cubes. Nuke-powered laptops anyone? NiPod? Fits right in your (front pants) pocket! Of course, for these small guys you have to do without the steam turbines for electrical generation, but surely there's a semiconductor method for direct transfer of emmisive radiation bombardment to DC electricity on a smaller scale. If not, then take a memo: get some VC money on this right away. Me and my luggage will be waiting for my Flying Car. I'd like to winter in Bora Bora, so get cracking (pun intended). Fergit big nuke-powered airliners. It takes a lot of energy to lift one of those babies. Forget that they shouldn’t physically be able to fly at all in the first place. The only reason we have ginormous Airbuses is that jet fuel is so cheap–oh, and the need to maximize the use of the runways, hubs, loading and unloading infrastructure, etc.

Here’s my solution, which needs only a micro-pile, just a few killowatts/sec: Dude! Where’s my Flying Car!?(tm)

to achieve the utopian dream of cheap individual flying machines, we need universal plug-in nuclear piles. These would be little shielded boxes (okay, maybe not-so little, but smaller than a dorm fridge) of just a few standard sizes: SMB-sized, house size, (flying) car sized. They’re plug-n-play. Easier to change than a car battery. Well, maybe for the home/SMB sizes you need some plumbing, but it isn’t any more complicated than what a typical nerd with a watercooled overclocked gaming rig has. Run it for a few years and then the guys in the hazmat suits (or not, I keep thinking of the ganga-smoking bro in Fifth Element loading up the power tube for the spaceship–classic! …or…prophetic? hmmm?) they show up and swap out the cube for a new one. Easy lease payment plans for pennies on the Kw. Stack the used cubes up in a salt dome in Vegas, or, since they don’t have to meet such a high output criteria as do the big-nuke rods, reallocate the remainder material into smaller and smaller cubes. Nuke-powered laptops anyone? NiPod? Fits right in your (front pants) pocket!

Of course, for these small guys you have to do without the steam turbines for electrical generation, but surely there’s a semiconductor method for direct transfer of emmisive radiation bombardment to DC electricity on a smaller scale. If not, then take a memo: get some VC money on this right away.

Me and my luggage will be waiting for my Flying Car. I’d like to winter in Bora Bora, so get cracking (pun intended).

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