One of my fascinations is the peaceful usage of nuclear fission.
For me this is the holy grail for a stable and prosperous and peaceful society.
There have been many Generation 4 (Gen4) designs proposed and some have gone into design and testing on a very small scale.
Many different persons have tried to promote a specific design but so far I believe that China is the only country that has really been committed to solve the technological issues.
China has mastered the technology and design for a Gen4 reactor that can:
- refuel without shutdown time
- is meltdown proof
- is cooled by Helium
- the moderator is graphite
- the enriched Uranium is encased in spheres of 6 cm in diameter
- the heat is exchanged from Helium to water which drives a steam turbine to generate electricity
The reactor is called a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor using a Pebble Bed to contain the nuclear fuel and graphite tubes as moderator to control the nuclear reaction.
Here are some links for those interested.
China’s demonstration HTR-PM enters commercial operation.
First meltdown-proof nuclear reactor passes loss of cooling test in China