A new Google device surfaced at the FCC today that could well be the upcoming Pixel Tablet. At the FCC, the tablet appeared under Google's ID as A4RGTU8P. However, A4RGTU8P is not the model number of the upcoming Google Pixel tablet. This device is listed as "Wireless Device", which is a fairly generic description. Nowhere in these documents is it referred to as a tablet. The device supports Bluetooth LE, WiFi 6 and UWB. While that's not the most concrete proof that this is actually the Pixel Tablet, what else could it be? Sources): FCC The post Google's Pixel Tablet may have appeared at FCC appeared first on xiaomist's blog .
Miniature nuclear reactors will replace large power plants. 12 such facilities are under construction
This decision will go down in history. US authorities have allowed NuScale to build mini-nuclear reactors. 12 such structures will feed the Idaho power grid.
For years, companies dealing with nuclear energy have been looking for a way to increase the competitiveness of nuclear energy in relation to even cheaper renewable energy. This method turns out to be miniaturization. NuScale has just received approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the construction of 12 modular mini-nuclear reactors, in which the reactor core, pressure stabilizer and steam generator will be placed in one vessel, also serving as a containment.
Nuclear mini-reactors
The dimensions of such a reactor are 25 meters in height and 4.6 meters in diameter, and the weight is 450 tons. As for its efficiency, it is 50 MWe (gross). 12 such structures will make up the first mini-nuclear power plant with a capacity of around 600 MWe (gross). What's more, all the components needed to build the reactors are to be produced on the assembly line, which, according to NuScale, is to guarantee a fairly efficient pace of construction of the reactors themselves.
Smaller is better, and we just need nuclear power plants
NuScale is not the only company that wants to change the image of the atom and produce smaller reactors instead of giant behemoths. The Russian company Rosatom and the Chinese state-owned company China National Nuclear Corp are also working on very similar projects.
The miniaturization of this energy sector will allow for faster and much easier construction of reactors, and these two issues have until recently been the biggest problem for the atom. With the technology for the production of mini-reactors, nuclear energy could quickly take over a large part of energy production, for which coal and gas power plants are currently responsible, whose time is slowly coming to an end. Renewable energy sources are of course becoming more efficient, but relying on them for the entire energy sector remains a song of the future.
This view is presented, among others, by Richard Rhodes , one of the most respected experts in the field of nuclear energy, who has been debunking myths about nuclear energy for many years. In his latest publication, which appeared on the Yale website, the author argues that without the participation of nuclear power plants, complete independence from coal energy is simply impossible. In addition, the energy produced from nuclear power is comparable to electricity generated in wind farms or solar farms - while generating it, nuclear power plants do not emit any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Another advantage of the atom is efficiency. All methods of energy production based on real green solutions have a problem with this. Especially in our part of Europe, where sunny days or sufficiently strong winds are not all-year-round phenomena, which means that the average efficiency of wind and solar farms placed in Poland is quite low. A similar situation occurs in the United States, where hydropower plants operate with an average efficiency of 38.2%, wind turbines - 34.5%, and the efficiency of solar farms is only 25.1%. The efficiency of nuclear power plants in the same area is 92.3%, which makes this type of energy much more stable.
There is also the issue of security
The discussion about nuclear energy sooner or later touches on the topic of the Chernobyl or Fukushima disasters. Here are some facts about the latter: the earthquake and the Tsunami caused by it melted the cores in the three reactors of the Fukushima power plant. The Japanese authorities then evacuated 195,000. people in the potential danger zone. All of them were then tested for the ingestion of an excessive dose of radiation.
The results of these studies were discussed in a report prepared by the Atomic Energy Agency, which shows that only 10 people received an above-average dose of radiation - more than 10 mSv / year. However, such exposure did not cause any health problems. 98 percent of evacuated people, the radiation dose was less than 5 mSv / year. Let us also add that Japan is not in such a quiet place when it comes to tectonic plate movements, as for example Poland.
As for mini-reactors, for now we can only speculate that their smaller size means less potential risk from them. In theory, in the event of damage to such a mini-reactor, it can also be transported to a place where it will not threaten anyone. For now, the NuScale reactor project has been approved by the US nuclear regulatory authority, so we can assume that it meets all the required safety issues.
If it turns out that modular nuclear power plants consisting of mini-reactors will be adopted in the United States, it is possible that Europe will also be interested in them. I also hope that the Polish authorities will also be interested in the NuScale project. Maybe the mini-reactors could be installed a bit faster than planned since the nuclear power plant.
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Miniature nuclear reactors will replace large power plants. 12 such facilities are under construction
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