>>I'll keep everyone informed if my tail light lenses, go into nuclear >>meltdown. Andrew replied: >That's ATOMIC meltdown. Nuclear power is fusion and cannot melt down... no >radioactives or metal fuels involved. I hate to nitpick, but since we're correcting one another here I disagree with Andrew's reply... Nuclear energy is the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom. This energy can be released by fission OR fusion. I don't think there are any fusion reactors outside of laboratories. Most nuclear reactors used for power generation are fission reactors. They use heavy metals for fuel. They can "melt down" if the chain reaction process of fission becomes uncontrolled. They create radioactive "by-products." So-called fusion weapons utilize fission "jackets" to increase their explosive yield and will thus produce significant radioactive fallout. I know all this because I'm currently converting our '85 Westy to a fusion powered engine. I'll be containing the 100,000 degree plasma in a coffee-can sized magnetic-confinement tokamak I built in our garage. Apparently, I'll need the bellhousing from a diesel to do the conversion. I think it was on a listmember's site that I remember reading that the digijet ECU will manage the reactor if I ground pin 42. Have a good Friday all! Scott |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.