Nuclear Physicist Explains - The Rise of Generation IV Reactors?

[@56932982]

Yes, please explain the different Gen IV reactor concepts. That would be a nice video series.

[@intotron6708]

I support that proposal 😁 Really an interesting series. You once mentioned 6 types of Gen IV reactors. While I heard of some I'm not sure to know of all six variants. Would like to learn on that.

[@slugface322]

I say skip to Gen V Funnel every penny being spent on frivolous fusion power into fission power. ya don't gotta be a rocket scientist to understand Lawson's criteria. It will be decades of it'll be here in thirty years before they admit defeat. Build us an SMR 500 megawatt thermal output that fits in a 40 foot hi-cube shipping container with a service life of 20 years so you can roll as many as needed to retrofit the current coal and natural gas turbogenerators at power stations and start enjoying that zero CO2 NO2 SO2 emissions nooclear goodness in the next five years. 😂

[@pinlap3875]

I'd love to hear more too, Elina. Also, in the UK I know highly radioactive waste is combined with glass (or at least it's called vitrification?) - would that affect its ability to be reprocessed into a future fuel as you mentioned?

[@WayneBraack]

I too want to hear more about this. I've been pro-nuclear all my life. I was born in the sixties and saw the disasters but I believe it is more efficient and less environmentally impacting than the other technologies

[@clarkkent9080]

The gen 4 reactors are concept reactors and all have POTENTIAL technological advantages. But realize the same exact thing can be said of fusion

[@kevynnedallaire1815]

Awesome summation Elina! Yes, please do individual videos on each of the Generation IV reactors.

[@paulbradford6475]

Elina, an excellent video. Yes, to answer your question, please do other videos on the Gen 4 reactor types - the general public needs to be informed that nuclear power is the answer to our energy needs.

[@mariagavriilidou7525]

Amazing video as always. Yes I think it would be so helpful in order to understand better all the reactor types if you did separate videos for each. Thank you for the amazing knowledge delivery.

[@chetanpadia4421]

I really appreciate you Elina you are doing a great job

[@patatje1434]

well Elina, you can explain as much reactor generations as you like. Since you are the friendly scientist and explain things so well, i'll watch it all. 🙂

[@dannestrom]

I'm happy that we have such a cool nuclear physicist here in Sweden, since the environmentalists have shut down several reactors and pushed for only wind and solar power. We desperately need new reactors, preferably of the generation 4 kind. I hope that you nuclear scientists make good progress in your research.

[@garybersin3214]

Thanks for your video !!!

[@thirstfast1025]

As more of a geology enthusiast, I'd love to hear your take on Oklo, and how natural nuclear reactions occur. Love your channel! Cheers!

[@Songfugel]

Since no one has responded yet... It is quite simple. If the uranium enrichment (% of easily fissable uranium U-235) is naturally high enough uranium can sustain a nuclear chain reaction as long as there is a moderator like a graphite rod (Tsernobyl) or water (gen 2-3), as in the case of Okla. The moderator slows the neutrons down enough that they don't simply bounce off the uranium, but is absorbed splitting the Uranium, releasing fission products and even more free neutrons to hit other fissile Uranium atoms. As long as there is moderator (water) and the good Uranium concentration % stays at inside the sweet spot range the chain reaction can keep on happening naturally without any human involment. The reason Okla is so special, is that unlike in Okla most other natural Uranium deposits we know of did not have high enough % of this "good" easily fissile Uranium with the proper conditions to naturally start and continue process, but first requires us to enrich it to raise the concentration % up to the required sweet spot range that maintain the chain reaction. There are most likely a lot of such natural reactors all around the Earth, but Okla is the only one we have found so far To get a bit more technical on the "good" Uranium and sweet spot, here is a quote from world nuclear org that explains it perfectly: _"Uranium found in nature consists largely of two isotopes, U-235 and U-238. The production of energy in nuclear reactors is from the 'fission' or splitting of the U-235 atoms, a process which releases energy in the form of heat. U-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium.Natural uranium contains 0.7% of the U-235 isotope._ _The remaining 99.3% is mostly the U-238 isotope which does not contribute directly to the fission process (though it does so indirectly by the formation of fissile isotopes of plutonium). Isotope separation is a physical process to concentrate (‘enrich’) one isotope relative to others. Most reactors are light water reactors (of two types - PWR and BWR) and require uranium to be enriched from 0.7% to 3-5% U-235 in their fuel. This is normal low-enriched uranium (LEU). There is some interest in taking enrichment levels to about 7%, and even close to 20% for certain special power reactor fuels, as high-assay LEU (HALEU)."_

[@thirstfast1025]

@@Songfugel dang! You could make your own video on it! Thanks for the detailed response! Cheers!

[@lexinexi-hj7zo]

@@Songfugel I know its simple on the surface but you could probably make a 1 hr video on the specifics. What radiation and isotopes and neutron activation goes on? I have so many questions besides, water moderates, boils off becomes non critical, repeat.

[@Songfugel]

@@lexinexi-hj7zo true

[@Songfugel]

@beingsentient The problem isn't with dirt to uranium ratio, it is the ratio of U235 to U238 in the uranium fuel. Current reactors use 5% U235 enriched fuel, but 10% are planned for the new plants, and research plants use up to 20% enriched uranium. Nuclear weapons require 90%+ enriched uranium I'm not proposing anything, just explaining how nuclear reactions have and are happening on Earth naturally with the right conditions. Nuclear power is the most natural source of energy, not the opposite

[@BobDazify]

Love your video Elina. Very interesting as always. You are so gifted at making quite complex nuclear concepts understandable to the masses with your charming Spanish accent. If possible, could you work in a little more of how minor actinides are transmuted in fast reactors and what they are transmuted into?

[@kentbarnes1955]

A very well designed and presented video. Yes...I would like to see videos on the different "new" Gen4 reactors.

[@AlexanderTome]

I would absolutely love videos about the different types of generation IV reactors currently under development. I really appreciate your channel, I must say. I'm in the middle of transitioning careers, and I'm heavily considering pursuing energy as a sector of focus in part because of you and your channel.

[@НАТАШАМАКАРОВА-г6в]

Финансировать ядерную энергетику на должном уровне и правильно управлять её развитием под силу только государству.

[@floundericiouswa5694]

Yes!!! I’ve wanted someone knowledgeable to teach us all how the new designs are better. Not just disaster porn looking back

[@xander9460]

Yes! Thank you! I needed to know more about this! For myself and people I have discussions with =) Whom seems to gently become more open to listening to information about nuclear reactors. Sentiment (at least in the Netherlands) seems to gently be shifting.

[@StereoSpace]

Great video. Useful, informative, and really well explained. Thanks for all the work you put into these.

[@arielroselo9093]

Very enlightening! I look forward to getting more updates/results from the actual experiments and trial operations of the countries you've mentioned.

[@atompztim3201]

Thanks for a wonderful lesson. For me as an interpreter at a nuclear power plant that was really valuable, informative and intelligible.

[@zeon5323]

Very good video! Thanks for posting this.

[@RCSVirginia]

If I remember correctly, France abandoned research on Generation 4 reactors a few years back--maybe in 2019?--and I thought at the time, "Now this is a truly stupid idea! France should be ramping up funding, not ending it!"

[@НАТАШАМАКАРОВА-г6в]

Франции не удалось справиться с управлением реактором Супер Феникс. Выступали зелёные. И даже был терракт против реактора.

[@eveningstarnm3107]

This was the lecture I've needed. Thank you for helping me to understand the basic differences between the reactor types. Gen 4 and smaller, mass-produced reactors have fascinating possibilities. Thank you. On another topic, have you considered posting a table of contents for your videos, with timestamps linking to the different chapters? I would have found it useful with this video.

[@ThomasOConnor-lp6kl]

Excellent video Elina, this was very useful and provided me with a good base to start my Research project!! Would love to see more of these informative and accessible videos on this particularly interesting sector of the scientific world- Thanks again for all your great work!!

[@manuelemerveille2638]

❤ your videos as usual Very informative. 😊

[@jimsvideos7201]

Thank you for this! I like your teaching style and look forward to the next one 😊

[@ianmatlock1]

My Dad worked in the 1st gen Calder Hall reactor in the UK in the late 50’s early 60’s. He then worked in the AGR on the same site until he retired in the 80’s. He worked in the control room and I always smile watch Homer in the Simpson. 😀😂❤️

[@pizzacrusher4632]

Wonderful video; thank you for making it!!!

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Superb summary. I appreciate the straight talking and also the energetic pace of delivery keeping it interesting. The last point about learning through use is very important. Here in the U.K. it’s all taking too long with insufficient rapid prototyping.

[@YourFriendlyNuclearPhysicist]

Thank you so much for your comment. It means a lot 🙏🏼☢️👩🏽‍🔬

[@乾淨核能]

Great!! This is just what I have been looking for!!

[@MrZenzio]

Thank you, this was very helpful.

[@randseedbin9440]

Just discovered your channel and love the content so far! Yes, please do a breakdown of the different Gen 4 systems. 😃

[@johncampbell191]

Excellent job on this video and please do more ! Any and all information on nuclear energy, uranium, uranium miners and any thing else that is connected to the nuclear industry. Thank you, you really did an outstanding job and you were so straight forward with the information.

[@DavidSmith-qf4zj]

Excellent video. I would definitely like to see a deeper dive into the different reactor designs. The pros and cons. A look at the different emphasis each country puts on different systems. Can CANDU reactors be considered gen 4 since they can use natural uranium? Are all small modular reactors being developed considered gen 4? Is the traveling wave reactor considered gen 4? Also can the new passive safety systems be adapted to gen 3 reactors? Thanks for your videos.

[@ElectricUAM]

By far my new go-to nuclear education site. Yes, please, explain next Gen. IV, please :)

[@Henrique-iy2lk]

Great explanation, more videos on Gen IV would be really cool

[@arvindkc.331]

Very nice. You were very knowledgeable & fluent and the talk could be understood easily by anyone. Thank you

[@kenlee5461]

Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it very much. Also may be a subject to discuss is your reaction to the release of treated water from Fukishima nuclear power plant

[@dalimillazan2877]

Thank you" was trying to find some videos like this regarding history of reactor designs

[@beatricechauvel8237]

Thank you for your work. I would like to know more about the funds we need to develop Generation IV reactors.

[@garyknight8616]

Fascinating. Really well explained. Liked and subscribed.

[@jonahbert111]

Very nice presentation. On the Gen 4 reactors, you mentioned the advantage of using reprocessed spent fuels from previous generation reactors. Are there facilities for doing this reprocessing, or would they need to be built as well? And what would the problems be in reprocessing such dangerous stuff? I know in Little Valley, NY that there was a reprocessing plant that was shut down. There were area contamination and clean up issues there in the shut down, and I suppose during the operation as well. And some shady things involving plutonium also occurred that I had heard yrs ago from the grape vine, as in "special" fuel rods that ended up in operating commercial reactors. Just wondering.

[@НАТАШАМАКАРОВА-г6в]

В России при каждом(если он будет 1 на АЭС) реакторе на быстрых нейтронах будет комплекс по переработке работавшего топлива и изготовлению нового.

[@edgarespina2272]

Love and like your explanarion, very informative indeed. Take care always.

[@woodrow7201]

Subscribed!! Excellent and brief explaination.

[@johneverett3947]

I would love a dive into the types of Gen4 with the different pros and cons of each. Thanks for your clear and accurate information.😊😊

[@michaelblacktree]

Thanks for the overview. That was pretty informative.

[@fredflickinger643]

Excellent summary on the state of nuclear power!

[@Venturello]

Loving the shirt! 👍 Excellent video, as always

[@mlinderict]

Loving this! I watched as Wolf Creek (Gen 2) was built in Kansas it was part of a concept called SNUPPS (standardized nuclear power plant system). The concept was focused on standardization and repeatability. Experienced the normal legal challenges and delays that all plants did in that generation. IIRC, there were two units built to this model. I'm so looking forward to distributed nuclear generation! ❤

[@maynard789]

Great video, thank you!

[@MrFerdy1986]

Thanks Elina for the explanation!! Good to have people like you out there providing information instead of news organisations or activists. Which to me are quite biased. Keep em coming!

[@Sabi1234567890Asdf]

Got a slightly off topic video. Earlier i was watching one of thoes channels that does a 5 minute google to create a 30 minute episode. This episode was on surviving a nuclear blast. It got me thinking what did they get right what did they get wrong? Would you make a video based on your knowlege level of how to survive a major neuclear disaster (bomb or meltdown)?

[@leolaf6501]

Hi Elina, can you make an educated guess about how long we would need to wait until we see the first gen4 reactors running? I would like to know if there are still big hurdles to be solved.

[@beatricechauvel8237]

Me too

[@tarmaque]

It's my understanding that cultural inertia is the biggest hurdle to adopting a new generation of nuclear powerplants. Both governments and industry are extremely reluctant to change how they are doing something that they've been doing for decades. It isn't enough to say to them "Look! I have a new way to do your thing that is in every way better!" You have to overcome the entrenched mindset based on the sunk cost fallacy. They'd rather throw more money at what they have because they understand it, than to take a chance on something new that they don't understand.

[@chapter4travels]

Take a look at Terrestrial Energy, they are more than halfway through the Canadian licensing process, so before 2030 and others are not far behind. Each country has its own licensing process, Canada's is very long so others could be on the grid sooner.

[@timothyvincent7371]

I'm afraid the stubbornness of the regulatory apparatus and the corruption in the financial sources are major hurdles also. At plant Vogtle if an inspector found a single piece of rebar even 1mm out of place the whole form had to be ripped out and redone. We lost the project at V C Summer when Westinghouse and Toshiba made the money disappear without building the reactors. 18:42

[@NoNationHero]

It's not when, it's where en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beloyarsk_Nuclear_Power_Station

[@douglachman7330]

Thank you and well done presentation. I hope the rare greenie who can think and question is watching.

[@Tom-zy6ke]

Great video as always, I particularly like the balance you bring to the discussions, good points and bad of a given approach. I'd love to hear your views on the EPR reactors since we're building a few of them over here.

[@Drdemiurge]

1, 2, 3 and 4 please

[@chicoroth]

very good and very interesting! thank you.

[@tobiasekbom1646]

Great video, thanks! If there’s one piece of positive feedback I have, then maybe it’s easier to follow all the branching of stuff if you put like keywords up on the sides of the screen? Like ”now we’re talking about this thing, which is related to that”. I’m just viewing this as a leisure, not as a formal lecture. But it might be easier to follow. But also… Fantastisk tröja, och fortsätt göra fantastiska videor! 👍

[@odizzido]

I would watch any content you make that teaches me about your field of expertise.

[@markspc1]

Elina, thank you. You're my kind of scientist. I wish there were a million Elinas out there: humanity would have conquered the energy crisis in a heartbeat. Please keep up the good work. And yes, I would like to hear more about Generation IV reactors.

[@liviu-dantimar9492]

Lovely! What about space reactors, we have a few blown up in (Higher) Earth Orbit. An since we're at the subject, could the Van Allen Belts have been made more radioactive by that test of a nuke in the upper atmosphere. I believe they nuked the upper atmosphere before the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts... I've always wondered about this. Thank you, the way you structure your presentation inspires confidence and trust in the info presented!😌👽🤖😸🤓

[@fteoOpty64]

Yes, you are a friendly nuclear physicist!. As your T-shirt says. Great job in explaining the generations. Have you covered H3 reactors ?.

[@Dr.God-666]

I love this channel ♥️

[@stickynorth]

Canada has also signed on to triple nuclear power use in the nation by 2050... SMR's are planned for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick... All 4 provinces don't have large amounts of hydro power to draw cheap baseload power from so it's a good strategic move... Moltex is signed on to build a reactor at Point Lepreau, New Brunswick next to an existing CANDU reactor and eVinci micro reactors are going to be built in Saskatoon as a testbed for future rollouts of the technology to rural parts of Canada currently powered by diesel, pun intended...

[@CraftyF0X]

Great video, here some nitpick: 12:13 correct me if Im wrong but Im pretty sure you meant the reduction of reactivity in the fuel and with that the drop in power production (stop heating up) as I don't see how it would suddenly cool below the coolant's temperature :D (maybe just my english failed me :( ) 15:40 CANDU already can use natural Uranium it does not necessary requires fast spectrum, also MOX (plutonium uranium mix) can be used in PWRs

[@LostAgain1970]

Yes please Elina, continue with gen 4 reactors. This is very interesting. I feel it is important to learn more about this because every day the evomentalists argue how dirty and dangerous the nuclear power industry is. As a Swede, I know that we have a lot of nuclear waste that we will bury forever and the alarm in me screams that it is wrong. I feel it is wrong to bury a spent nuclear fuel for future generations to deal with, when today you can use it as a perfect fuel for gen 4 reactors making it "less dangerous". Then I have some questions: I am curious to get in-depth information about the difference between pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors. Another question I have is that there are light water reactors. Are there even heavy water reactors? If so, what is the difference and what are heavy water reactors used for.

[@baxter1252]

She has a video about candu reactors, which are heavy water reactors. They don't require enriched uranium but if I'm remembering this right they need more fuel.

[@LostAgain1970]

@@baxter1252 Thanks för the information! I gonna watch that video.

[@jlp1528]

Notification squad! Let's go!

[@costaliberta5969]

i loved it! sure we do! see u soon!

[@JessWLStuart]

I'd love to see your explanation of the Gen 4 reactor types! :D

[@JONSEY101]

Hi Elina. When speaking of safety systems perhaps at some time in the future, you mentioned the possibility of dropping the core into a coolant to avoid a meltdown. Wouldn't dropping something so hot into something so cold cause an explosion due to the sudden change in temperatures? Great video as always. Have a wonderful day, take care!

[@JONSEY101]

@dariojurisic I get that but as the hot core enters the water, it can cause an exploration due to rapid temperature change.

[@flyingwyoming5184]

We are getting a 4th gen in my home state of Wyoming. I believe ours is going to be a molten salt. I think the salt part is for storing heat to supplement "green" energy.

[@NewMatildaDotCom]

Very helpful, thank you :)

[@albennett418]

Well done! 😊

[@jk_46]

Hi Elina, your channel is gold! Love your content! I was wondering, under which generation of reactor would a pebble bed reactor fall and how common is its use?

[@voyagersa22]

Dear Dr. I would like to ask you something, if you could reply it would be great! We work with radiation ☢️ protection doors and rooms. Sometimes customers ask us to install borated HDPE boards for neutron protection as well as lead. But have “overheard“ opinions by some providers that this HDPE material can “saturate with time because of the neutrons” and needs to be replaced. But neither the vendors or operators seem to have a clear answer. I would like to ask you kindly to elaborate if possible about this topic.. I love your videos , thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏🏿 😊 🎉

[@tom5216]

Hi there, thoroughly enjoying your videos. i worked in the UK at Hunterston A and B nuclear power stations in Scotland for 30 years in various engineering capacities. I noticed you didn’t mention the UK’s Magnox and AGR gas cooled reactors. Both had negative void co-coefficients where raised temperature acts as a negative feedback thus limiting runaway reactions. This seems similar to the goal of self regulation of the reactor power using the methods now envisioned for the gen 4 reactors you discussed. Another advantage of gas cooling is that the control rods would fall in under gravity in an emergency shutdown rather than having to be motorised. Handy in a case of loss of electrical power. I’m not a physicist so appreciate your ability to explain the physics side of nuclear fission in layman’s terms without losing your audience in the complexities of the physics. You are right that fission is totally confused with fusion in the eyes of the public. This has been a major problem with the publics perception of the nuclear power industry. People equate fusion with the atomic bomb, a basic mistake that has held back the industry for years. Regardless of the inane green arguments against nuclear power it is the only real sustainable power source we have for the future. i think this is now beginning at last to be realised in the UK and hopefully we will return to building a renewed and substantial nuclear power capability. Keep up the good work. The more transparency and education we have the better. Thank you.❤

[@marcinkowalczyk647]

a full explainer on gen 4 would be great, possibly with a video explaining all gen 3 currently in use so we could understand everything better

[@mikecrowe4585]

Plus one! Please inform me of the Gen IV reactor types. Please include stage of development and plus and minus of each type. Thank you for educating me in this important field!

[@wolpumba4099]

*Summary* - *0:00** Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Generations* - Discussion starts with the introduction of Generation 1 to 3 reactors. - Plans to later discuss advantages of Generation 4 reactors and their importance in the nuclear industry. - *0:33** Generation 1 Reactors* - First-ever reactors, constructed around the 1950s and 1960s. - Mostly experimental and small in size. - Examples include Fermi 1 in the USA, Shippingport in the USA, and Calder Hall in the UK. - Last Generation 1 reactor shut down in 2015 in the UK. - *1:29** Generation 2 Reactors* - Commercial reactors, currently used in the nuclear industry. - Large scale, connected to the grid. - Four main types: Pressurized Water Reactors, Boiling Water Reactors, CANDU Reactors (Canadian design), and VVERs (Russian design). - Examples include Diablo Canyon in the USA. - Lacked advanced safety features, relying mostly on active safety requiring operator intervention. - *2:53** Generation 3 Reactors* - Evolutionary designs based on Generation 2. - Enhanced with advanced safety features, especially passive safety. - Self-regulate without needing much active operator intervention. - Examples include AP600 by Westinghouse and EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor). - Built in the 1990s and early 2000s. - *3:54** Generation 3 Plus Reactors* - Introduced between 2010 and 2020, post-Fukushima. - Advanced water-cooled designs with extra passive safety systems. - Examples include AP1000 by Westinghouse. - Aim to enhance safety and reliability, reducing risks of core melts and severe accidents. - *6:24** Generation 4 Reactors* - Introduced in the 2000s, focusing on sustainability, economics, safety, and proliferation resistance. - Improved fuel utilization, using more uranium-238 and recycling spent fuel from older reactors. - Economically competitive, smaller, mass-produced, and easier to install. - Enhanced safety with passive systems and virtually impossible core melts or severe accidents. - Proliferation-resistant designs, making fuel less attractive for misuse. - Countries like the USA, China, Russia, France, and Sweden actively developing Generation 4 reactors. - Still experimental, with some lacking operational experience. - *16:24** Conclusion* - Generation 4 reactors offer reduced nuclear waste, more energy production, improved safety, and proliferation resistance. - Capable of producing high-quality process heat for hydrogen production. - Still in the experimental stage, with high current costs but potential for cost reduction through mass production. - Emphasis on the need for further development and operational experience.

[@PaulyDownUnder]

Great video Elina, very easy to understand and enjoyable to watch! I live in Australia, nuclear power is for some reason frowned upon. There's a big push for wind and solar to move us towards Net Zero. Due to the cost to setup enough wind and solar and the infrastructure required, people have started to ask why nuclear power power is not considered. Nuclear proliferation plays a part in the decision, but if its a matter of being able to power the country sufficiently, providing a reliable base load, nuclear is really the only option moving forward. Gen4 reactors sound great, such a shame they are so far away from being available. A Gen3+ reactor should suffice, the government just need to get their act together and spend the money.

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

I worked in a building called Charles House in Kensington, London back in the 1980s. On Thursday morning at about 9:30am a railway train used to pass next to my office. Unlike other passenger trains, this was a freight train that shook the building, so I became used to its passage. It was only some years later that I learned that this train contained nuclear waste, that was being sshipped through one of the most affluent areas of London. How this was allowed I don't know, and so far there have been no accidents, but is this sort of thing a good idea?

[@slugface322]

Completely safe. It's the tank cars filled with volatile, flammable downright explosive liquids which are a matter of genuine concern. A Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion is quite an experience. One anyone, given the choice would easily respond, I'd rather have yellow cake please.

[@bhawanisinghindia2287]

Nice explanation...🌍👽

[@rosen9425]

What an information dump my head is spinning 😄 Sounds like Gen IV is a great leap for a new nuclear era. Yay! 🎉

[@skataskatata9236]

gen IV is a pipe dream. it is economically obsolete, because each produced kWh costs 4-10x more than any other electricity source.

[@seitbekir]

Yes, more videos about each gen4 reactor please! Love watching your vids. Hope, soon nuclear energy will be not so scary for people and science will dominate stupidity. Thank you for your work.

[@jamesbishop6397]

Excellent! You are interesting, highly educated and very informative. Only problem is they all far to brief. More please and thank you.

[@eszterannaimre711]

Please make a video series about each gen lV reactors!

[@OneEyedMonkey9000]

Have you got any more information about the Chinese LFTR they are building in the Gobi Desert ? So far, I’ve only seen a few ecstatic hand waves information free videos…

[@lostboy8084]

I have a question about something. I read a paper in a journal or something was too long ago to remember the exact source. The thing that this group of scientists did was trying answer if people should be more afraid of radiation from nuclear power plants. They measured the radiation levels outside a couple of nuclear power plants and as coal power plants was the most dominant use. They found that coal power plants outside areas tended to have higher radiation levels than nuclear. They concluded that the construction of nuclear power plants are built to prevent radiation leaking in or outside 😊😊

[@jlp1528]

Yeah, coal power plants release more radioactive contamination into the environment than nuclear plants are allowed to. Unfortunately, there are still a LOT of coal power plants in operation around the world. The ash and other waste from fossil fuel power isn't handled with anywhere near the same care as even low level radioactive waste. Even if greenhouse gases weren't a problem, the variety and toxicity of the chemicals present in coal ash alone is terrifying, and we're just piling it up like any other trash.

[@jaydearien8624]

I’d live to see some details about designs of Gen4 reactors. Which coolants, which core designs, which kinds of fuels, how do passive safety and negative stability features work, etc

[@olderchin1558]

There are a couple of Gen 4 reactor HTGR in the Shidao Bay power plant since 2022.

[@MSdeCH]

What an amazing explanation, the nuclear energy is in a constant evolution, and far away from the Hollywood vision of the dirty unsafe energy. I'm in love 😅

[@karlhenke91]

I've been playing a game called Terra Invicta, which is set in the near future and has a lot of information about fission power (and space propulsion) in it. These videos help me actually understand what all the words mean.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Huh

[@ja37d-34]

Looking forward to new reactors here in Sweden.. :) Was at Ringhals a few weeks during school, loved it.. But chose another career.. Would love to see enw reactors though.

[@Mivoat]

Excellent video Elina. Don’t forget the UK, which is producing the Moltex flex reactor. Moltex energy are also producing the stable salt reactor waste burner in Canada, which will use their WATSS waste to stable salt technology to recycle CANDU nuclear waste. The main advantage of the stable salt reactor design is there is no pumping of active fuel through pipes, valves, heat exchangers and a chemical processing unit. Instead the molten salt stays in vertical tubes, and fission gases bubble safely out at the top where as I understand it most of them decay into something else. This design reduces the cost enormously. Also they are planning to store heat for up to a week, so that they have plenty of energy to generate electricity when there is no wind or sun to drive renewables. That heat storage mechanism is called grid reserve.

[@JoeTaber]

Nice video! Maybe next time showcase a specific gen 4 reactor design and talk about how these features are implemented in that reactor.

[@amanawolf9166]

I'd love to see an in-depth explanation on GenIV reactors. I'm not sure if it's 100% correct, but I thought I saw a reactor design that used high-temp gas for a fast reactor, specifically helium.

[@timothyvincent7371]

Yes, I have seen a proposal for a reactor with a ceramic pebble bed core ( no fuel rods!) cooled with pressurized helium, which turns out to have an amazingly high heat transfer capacity.

[@BabyMakR]

Yes please for the explanation of each Gen4 type separately.

[@affanhasby822]

Please cover the nuclear waste controversy in Japanese sea, keep up the good work and thank you!

[@BlueShadow777]

Hi, I’ve only recently found (and subscribed to) your channel. Very interesting and, although I was around at the time of the Chernobyl disaster (I was 27 years old) and have previously seen the series numerous times, I learned a lot while watching along with you. I’d be interested in your thoughts/‘reaction’ on the following 1986 animated movie “WHEN THE WIND BLOWS” (7.7 rating on IMDB) and shows the traumatising after effects of a nuclear detonation on an elderly - somewhat naive - couple. I think you’d enjoy it.

[@raymondtalbot6104]

I could get behind Gen 4 reactors. Waste has always been my major issue with nuclear (Mainly because I don't trust how some countries treat their waste). It's hard to convince me humans can make a safe space for tens of thousands of years. In that lapse of time, language and signs will possibly have evolved in a way few will be able to understand the warning signs.

[@adrianmillard6598]

Thanks for the video! I would appreciate you quantifying the reduced waste, what it is comprised of, how long it needs to be stored for etc. I'm also interested in how other products are burnt in the new reactors please.

[@wyldhowl2821]

I would like to know your opinion on the "Small Modular Reactors" for use as power plants. In Canada, there has been a lot of hype lately about building them in Canada. Canada's got only a few CANDU plants running now, in Ontario and New Brunswick, but several provinces currently use coal or gas power plants for supplying their grid, which of course need to be phased out to ASAP to reduce GHG emissions. Some SMR talk has been for a specialized use, like powering oilsands production facilities that burn gas for their own energy, or in isolated areas that are unsuitable for hydroelectric and cannot have their needs met by renewables. However, most of the arguments I have heard for SMR's seem to be based on them having a low cost, or something related to it, like quicker to build or reduced need for personnel to operate it. Basically it sounds like the motivation for SMR's is to do nuclear power on a smaller budget. However, people are skeptical that when cost cutting is a motive, it is safety which suffers. Aside from your general opinion of SMR's I have more specific questions too: 1 - Would an SMR, because of its size, have to more closely resemble the kinds of compact reactors seen on navy vessels, and also use highly enriched fuel? (If so, does that increase the danger level, and the risk of proliferation?) 2 - In terms of efficiency to provide power to the general power grid, would it not still be more efficient to have one large nuclear power plant, run by a large group of professional staff, than have many smaller SMR's which cannot contribute very much to the grid individually, and have a smaller group of trained staff? Basically my questions are whether new large-size nuclear plants, though expensive, would still be more efficient and safer than a decentralized collection of SMR's would be. (I'm assuming here that any new nuclear power units would be generation 3+ technology or better, regardless of size.)

[@Freynightwalker]

Elina a discussion of gen 4 reactors with some images explaining how they produce electricity would be great, I see you have started this, thank you.