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Nuclear fracking

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Marlin:
Nuclear fracking and other early nuclear projects.

http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=3351964621314250596

Nuclear fracking:

At the sunset of the atomic age in 1969, the AEC was looking around for new uses for their huge trove of stockpiled nuclear weapons. One idea was to use atomic bombs to mine natural gas.











The NERVA program was a joint undertaking by NASA and the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1960s to develop a thermal nuclear rocket engine for use in the developing space program. The NERVA acronym stands for Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications. Although the resulting engines never flew on a mission, the program was successful in developing several technologies that are still used in modern rocket engines to this day. It could be said a modern liquid fuel rocket works like the NERVA engine. Thermal nuclear rocket engines come in three different core types:


- Solid-core
 - Liquid-core
 - Gas-core

The NERVA engine was based upon a solid-core design that emerged from the 1950s era nuclear reactors for power plants, so that type is what will be focused on. One complete test engine, the NERVA EX, can be seen in Figure 1 to the right (image credit: NASA).




Project Orion was an even more outlandish concept for atomic powered space exploration than NERVA. The design called for a giant space ship to detonate a hydrogen bomb behind it, and use the blast wave to push the craft forward. Not only that, but to repeat this process every four seconds.




Full article here;

http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=3351964621314250596

atomicarcheologist:

--- Quote from: Marlin on Aug 15, 2013, 03:28 ---At the sunset of the atomic age in 1969, the AEC was looking around for new uses for their huge trove of stockpiled nuclear weapons. One idea was to use atomic bombs to mine natural gas.
[
--- End quote ---

Oh, freaking nuclear fracking!  What a bonus for the consumers, a bit of tritium, some krypton, and a little carbon to flavor their cooking gas.

RDTroja:

--- Quote from: Atomic Archeologist on Aug 19, 2013, 11:34 ---Oh, freaking nuclear fracking!  What a bonus for the consumers, a bit of tritium, some krypton, and a little carbon to flavor their cooking gas.

--- End quote ---

But it would just be a little itty-bitty nuclear bomb! Can't we try it, please?

atomicarcheologist:
It was, they did.

GLW:

--- Quote from: Atomic Archeologist on Aug 19, 2013, 12:04 ---It was, they did.

--- End quote ---

not that there's anything wrong with that,...

what good are individual dose limits for members of the general public if you don't exercise them?!?!!?

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