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I know nothing about nuclear plant design, (except for the fact that making the world's largest teapots shows the 19th Century mindset of engineers), but there are certain fail-safe things that could be used. Things like gravity are pretty reliable and don't depend on external power.

Here is the rub: conventional power plant design needs an external power supply for normal work, to keep up circulation (emergency generators are good enough for just that, emergency shutdown). Gravity might be used, and both the EPR and pebble-bed designs rely on it in case of emergency, but other technical problems come with the basic idea of those solutions.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Tue Sep 12th, 2006 at 12:04:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Are you sure the EPR use gravity? I thought it wasn't a passive reactor.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Tue Sep 12th, 2006 at 12:35:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Gravity only gets the fuel out of the core and into the core catcher, while channeling and cooling requires action, so it both uses gravity and is not a passive system.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
by DoDo on Tue Sep 12th, 2006 at 05:53:47 PM EST
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