h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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Japan is basically an all-fault nation. You can't put a nuclear
power
plant anywhere that is safe from earthquakes or tsunamis. Or can
you? I propose that, rather than build nuclear power plants on
land,
the Japanese build instead a fleet of submarines with onboard
nuclear reactors, and keep
them
moored in the Sea of Japan well
beneath the surface but above the seafloor. Then, run large
extension cords from the subs to the surface, where they are
hooked into the nation's power grid.
To make the Chinese less nervous, the subs should have non-
stealthy diesel-electric engines for movement, with the nuke
reactor
inside (they aren't meant to be moved very often) and no missile
ports. To protect the subs and contain any spills, they would be
built within the confines
of
protective retaining walls, essentially massive swimming pools
inset
in the Sea.
Offshore Nuclear Power
http://www.wired.co...21/deep-sea-fission
Nuclear power plants built offshore by submarine manufacturers in France and Russia. [jurist, Apr 24 2011]
I Got Your Nuclear Reactor Right Here
http://www.halfbake...ctor_20Right_20Here
Anno: If it was a submarine I think it could dive out of the way of a storm...
Even 21 Quest commented.
[ldischler, Apr 24 2011]
[link]
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I think it's been suggested before in the "real world", as opposed to on the 'Bakery, that nuclear subs be used as a source of power for some maritime nations. I think there might need to be rather a lot of them or that they'd have to be very large, though that needn't be a problem as such. |
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I Googled a variety of relevant terms, such as "nuclear
submarines for land power" and "submarine nuclear power" but
didn't find anything close. Any search suggestions? |
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The link appears to be ALMOST exactly what I'm after. I still like
my idea of the retaining wall, however, in case of a spill or
meltdown, to prevent contamination of a large area of the sea. |
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Well, i only have a very hazy memory of what it
was but it sounds familiar. It may have been
linked to the plan to build tamper-resistant
reactors for Third World countries, or that could
be my imagination. For what it's worth, that
particular idea seemed totally insane to me. How
would the resources of an entire country be
prevented from getting into one?
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Your idea has the merit of it being offshore,
meaning it could probably be protected more
easily elsewhere than in Japan too. A friendly
country provides the sub and keeps control of it
without it ever getting to the country's territory
itself. That's a double-edged sword of course.
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With reference to the link, putting it on the
seabed seems to defeat the object of your idea,
so that doesn't make it baked at all.
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But now instead of tsunamis damaging a land based reactor, they pick up the entire nuclear power station and dump it on the coastal city, very possibly destroying the reactor since subs aren't as tough as buildings. An improvement?
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EDIT: Unless the subs could be at a depth whereby the tsunami passed over them? |
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//tsunami passed over them//
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At sufficient water depth, a tsunami has a wave height of one meter or so, so nothing to worry about. |
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The power can be transmitted to Earth by some sort of radiation like light or heat. |
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The radiation can be captured as geo-pyrolised photosynthates, which are later burned for energy. |
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