Search found 155 matches

by olivier
Thu Jan 06, 2011 4:34 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Life Expectancy in the U.S. Drops
Replies: 13
Views: 5125

Life Expectancy in the U.S. Drops

I missed this piece of news when it was released in December but I was quite surprised when I discovered it. Environment, lifestyle, heathcare access? The cause remains unclear. The fact is that the mortality of elderly people (over 85) has increased. What is your opinion on that? A sign of the times?
by olivier
Wed Nov 17, 2010 7:57 am
Forum: General
Topic: Names I'm Not Sure How to Pronounce:
Replies: 9
Views: 3255

Ivy Matt and Betruger are perfectly correct. In French bussard was also an archaic unit of liquid measure (especially for wine :-)) equivalent to a barrel but my bet is it comes from German (pronounced boo-sard , so no tricky French U but try not to roll the R :D). By the way the French busard is pr...
by olivier
Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:13 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

So, the question is, did I do something wrong, methodologically speaking, by using that 'Burnup' figure as the basis for comparison? No, you did not, but burn-up has differents meanings in different contexts. You cannot compare the 50 GWD/THM where the divisor is a mass of enriched uranium with the...
by olivier
Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:22 am
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

The MIT "Future of Nuclear Power" paper, has this to say: "Typical LWR spent fuel today reaches a burnup of 50,000 MWD/MT" There is a lot of information in the MIT study and it is definitely worth reading. A burn-up of 50 GWd/MTIHM (50 gigawatt.day per metric ton of initial heavy metal) is typical ...
by olivier
Sun Sep 26, 2010 7:02 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

There's no indication ANYWHERE on the site that the actual reactor they are working on is NOT a Travelling Wave design. Not on their website. Let us say that "traveling-wave" is their trademark rather than a reference to a particular design. Unfortunately it does not appear in the abstract availabl...
by olivier
Sun Sep 26, 2010 12:41 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

Bill Gates (in his TED address earlier this year), AND there website (checked yesterday) are both lieing through their teeth. I would not call those people liars but communicators. The scenario which I imagine is the following. The visionary (Teller) convinced the billionnaire (Gates) to fund his r...
by olivier
Sun Sep 26, 2010 8:56 am
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

the 'travelling wave' is constantly, slowly (takes 60 or 80 years for the wave to travel top to bottom through the fuel) Forget about the travelling wave. I once was excited by this concept due to Teller. According to their latest publications, TerraPower have practically abandoned most of it. What...
by olivier
Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:03 pm
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

I have a question This page about will probably answer several of your questions the radiotoxicity of spent fuel , then raise other questions, which is the good approach to any field. Although I am not a specialist in radiotoxicity, I hope I know where to stop before writing anything stupid. The im...
by olivier
Fri Sep 24, 2010 8:50 am
Forum: News
Topic: Is the nuclear renaissance dead yet?
Replies: 102
Views: 32440

I found many interesting things in the discussion. Here are my two cents. Nuclear Waste: Found in Theodore Rockwell’s Nuclear Energy Facts Report: The radioactivity of the used fuel decreases, until after 300 to 600 years, it approaches the level of the ore from whence it came. This is grossly wrong...
by olivier
Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:38 am
Forum: General
Topic: Report on Geothermal Oil Generation: Is this for real?
Replies: 18
Views: 8924

There is a long article on Wikipedia about abiogenic petroleum origin.
Is it quack science or should it deserve some credit?
by olivier
Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:02 pm
Forum: General
Topic: He deserves to get fired.
Replies: 16
Views: 4415

A lot of people are saying he did it on purpose. They say he did it because bringing attention to the fiasco that is Obama's Afghanistan Policy (and every other policy) is what is needed to save lives and save the mission. Right or wrong, I also heard comments according to which he did so because h...
by olivier
Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:38 am
Forum: News
Topic: Nextbigfuture: LENR= Stripping Reaction from Nickel Isotope
Replies: 20
Views: 8258

Um, I thought Ni64 was a stable isotope.
Sure it is. It is the Ni65 produced by the neutron capture which is short-lived.
by olivier
Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:23 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Where I spent Sunday Afternoon
Replies: 72
Views: 13122

Not the best, the worst!
Winston Churchill wrote:It has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time
According to http://richardlangworth.com/2009/06/dem ... overnment/.
by olivier
Fri May 28, 2010 10:51 am
Forum: General
Topic: We are Doomed! DOOOOOMMED I say!
Replies: 446
Views: 144701

The Austrian way of life or the fresh air of the Alps must be boosting the birth rate within the Turkish families. 8) To be serious, it is true that immigrants have more kids. In France, the increase in fertility due to immigrants accounts for .1 of the 2.0 fertility rate. No big deal. Having said t...
by olivier
Fri May 28, 2010 6:55 am
Forum: General
Topic: We are Doomed! DOOOOOMMED I say!
Replies: 446
Views: 144701

You may say whatever you like of the welfare state but please, do not blame it for the low birth rates. Differences in fertility rates in Europe are best explained by the level of government support to day care (all kind: either non-profit or for profit, at home or in kindergarten,).Like it or not, ...