[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> Nuclear energy create electricity form the heat produced in nuclear >> fission and nuclear fusion. Water is heated into steam. The steam is >> used to drive turbines that generate electricity. Once a nuclear >> reaction is started, it is difficult to stop short of consuming all the >> fuel with the current cycle. >> > > >> The heat from the nuclear reactor must be comstantly controlled. Water >> is usually used to control the heat. Should anything go wrong with the >> cooling system, the nuclear reactor with overheat causing a meltdown of >> materials surrounding the reactor, (eg the temperature will go so high >> as to vaporize steel and concrete, etc). This meltdown will likely >> cause the release of nuclear particle into the atmosphere, which are >> almost impossible to cleanup. >> > > Thank you Jane Fonda! There are such things as control rods to control the > reactor. Beyond that, the average plant runs about eighteen months before it > is shut down (not runs down) for refueling. If the cooling water supply is > diminished the reactors are automatically shut down. The same thing happens > with a tidal water supply if a storm causes major deviations in the supply. > Of course anything this powerful needs constant monitoring, cooling and the > like, but as anyone who works in a nuke plant will tell you, the real danger > is steam. Workers have been cooked to death in seconds by a burst steam > line, but then, that happens in coal fired plants as well. > > And to set your mind at ease, while it's a great show and I would appoint > Jack Bauer as head interogator, the supposed remote control device for > nuclear plants used by the bad guys on 24 a couple of years back does not > exist. ! Keep in mind, these are not government operations. Some of these > companies would suffer severe consequences if they screwed up. > > -- > Larry Miller > Based on my understanding, It is not possible to turn nuclear fission on and off like you can a light bulb using a switch. Once nuclear fission begins an atomic chain reaction starts that is not easily stopped.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor_physics Regards, LelandJ > > --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- > multipart/mixed > text/plain (text body -- kept) > message/rfc822 > --- > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
