Great Quotations collected by Dick Caro

 Great Quotations link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PoR4D1irUB6gGmyfemiSRGzSH6iEzrZb8EPTlTRaTDw/edit?usp=sharing

Nuclear Power Plants - 2024

 Nuclear Power Plants generate electricity without producing CO2 the dominant Greenhouse Gas (GHG.) This article explains the current process used to generate electricity in the 429 nuclear power plants in the world. Then it relates the new design for Nuclear Power plants now under construction.

 https://constructiondigital.com/articles/bechtel-launches-carbon-free-nuclear-power-plant

The nuclear power plants of the world today and in the near future all depend upon nuclear fission; specifically the fission of Uranium 235 under controlled conditions to prevent the "run-away reaction" called a melt-down. Control is typically supplied in modern fission plants by a computer-based digital control system. So far only one such plant has failed to prevent melt-down: the plant at Fukushima, Japan following a 9.1 magnitude earthquake and a 30 foot high tsunami that flooded the basement where the reactor water circulation pumps were located. While the plant was designed to withstand earthquakes, the flood caused by the tsunami caused failure of the cooling water pumps and an explosion of hydrogen gas accumulated at the reactors. Both the Chernobyl and 3-mile island nuclear power plant failures were due to inadequate control systems installed before computers were applied to control.

Modern pressurized water nuclear reactors use purified water to cool the reactor core and provide absorption of excess neutrons called moderation. The fuel consists of stainless steel rods that contain uranium 238 and are "enriched" with uranium 239. Control rods are also stainless steel but filled with Boron that can absorb excess neutrons and thereby reduce the rate of the reaction of uranium 239 that splits into smaller (less atomic weight) elements and releases neutrons that continue the chain reaction. Some of the released neutrons also convert the uranium 238 to plutonium 239; a byproduct of the fission reaction that occurs in this pressurized water fast breeder nuclear reactor.

The primary product of nuclear fusion is heat that passes into the cooling water, and then is exchanged with fresh water to generate steam that powers electric generators. Reactor cooling water is flittered and recycled through heat exchangers that produce the steam to power the electric generators. Generally, the steam condensate that is produced after powering the generators is cooled in the cooling towers that often identify a nuclear power plant. The steam condensate is not radioactive.

All modern nuclear reactors are controlled by a digital control system that looks much like a modern high reliability DCS used in process control. Many of the components are redundant to assure high availability. Often the entire control center has a duplicate off-site to be used in case a radiation leak forces abandonment of the human operators from the control center. All communications is redundant secure and highly available. Lessons learned at Fukushima require cooling water pumps, primary and backup, to be located above the maximum flood level for the area.

The "fast breeder" term is used because the Plutonium 239 that is produced in the nuclear reaction is later recycled into new fuel rods, since Plutonium 238 is also a fissionable material. The lower molecular weight byproducts of fission are less than 10 percent of the original fuel and are encased in glass and stored for future disposal. Fortunately the most radioactive byproducts are small in volume and are not a serious problem. It should be noted that fast breeder nuclear power reactors can be scaled and are the primary power source for all modern submarines and naval vessels.

Nuclear technology is not classified as secrete or proprietary. There are hundreds of textbooks of information about safe design of nuclear power plants.Yet the publicity of power plant failures at Chernobyl, 3-mile island, and Fukushima and the 1950 movie "China Syndrome" have strongly and in my opinion, wrongly biased public opinion negatively about nuclear power. It produces electric power at lower cost than any fossil fueled power plant, and does not generate or use any greenhouse gases.

Possible Future of Nuclear Power

Without much effort, the technology used to produce small nuclear power plants for US military/naval vessels can be used to build new smaller and lower cost nuclear power plants at any location with access to fresh water. Desalinization as used on shipboard could extend this to seaside installations.

Understandably, the public has an unfounded fear of nuclear power from the few accidents that have occurred. We have learned and compensated for those early failures so now plants cannot experience a core melt-down. But melt-down is the primary source of fear of nuclear power.

To remove the fear of melt-down, several new process for the reactor portion of nuclear power has been created:

a) Liquid sodium cooled reactor

Here is a description of Liquid Sodium Cooled nuclear reactors created by AI:

A liquid sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) is a type of nuclear reactor that uses liquid sodium as a coolant instead of water. SFRs are considered a promising candidate for next generation nuclear technologies. Some of their features include: 

• Fast neutron spectrum: Neutrons can cause fission without being slowed down first, which could allow SFRs to use both fissile material and spent fuel from current reactors. 
• High power density: SFRs can achieve high power density with low coolant volume fraction. 
• High thermal efficiency: SFRs have high thermal efficiency. 
• Closed fuel cycle: SFRs have a closed fuel cycle. 

Some other features of SFRs include: 

• Oxygen-free environment: The oxygen-free environment prevents corrosion. 
• Sealed coolant system: Sodium reacts chemically with air and water, so SFRs require a sealed coolant system. 
• Special precautions: Sodium is chemically reactive, so special precautions are required to prevent and suppress fires. 

Some disadvantages of liquid metal cooled reactors include: Difficulties associated with inspection and repair, Fire hazard risk for alkali metals, Corrosion, and Production of radioactive activation products.

b) Liquid salt nuclear reactor

Here is a summary of information gathered by AI on the topic of a "Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor:

A liquid salt nuclear reactor, also known as a molten salt reactor (MSR), is a type of nuclear power reactor that uses molten salts to cool its core and produce electricity. MSRs are similar to conventional reactors, but they use salts instead of water to cool the core, which may make them more efficient and better suited for non-electric applications. 

MSRs can use molten salts as both a coolant and a fuel. In some designs, the fuel is dissolved in the molten salt-based coolant, while others use solid fuel rods with the molten salts only acting as a coolant. MSRs can operate at higher temperatures and for longer periods of time than other reactor types, and they can also be designed to operate in low-pressure environments. 

MSRs have several potential advantages, including: 

• No solid fuel

  Some designs don't require solid fuel, which eliminates the need to manufacture and dispose of it. 
• Nuclear waste burners

  MSRs can be designed to burn nuclear waste. 
• Safety

  MSRs have low excess reactivity, a negative temperature coefficient of reactivity, and low pressure, which can help keep things stable. The fuel salt is also generally not very reactive with the environment. 

• Corrosion

  Over time, alloys that don't dissolve in molten salt can form a protective coating that slows corrosion. 

c) Thorium fueled nuclear reactor

Here is a discussion about Thorium-fueled nuclear reactors gathered using AI:

Thorium-fueled nuclear reactors have several advantages over uranium-fueled reactors, including: 

• Abundance

  Thorium is three times more abundant than uranium. 
• Environmental impact

  Thorium-fueled reactors produce less long-lived nuclear waste than uranium-fueled reactors. They also don't emit greenhouse gases while operating. 
• Safety

  Thorium-fueled reactors have safety features that reduce the risk of nuclear accidents and proliferation. 
• Weaponization potential

  Thorium-fueled reactors have a lower potential for weaponization than uranium-fueled reactors. 
• Location

  Thorium-fueled reactors can be installed in remote and arid regions, far from coastlines and watercourses. 
• Efficiency

  Molten salt reactors (MSRs) that use thorium as fuel are highly efficient. MSRs use a suspension of molten salts instead of solid fuel rods to drive the chain reaction. 

However, there are some challenges to thorium-fueled reactors, including: 

• Extraction costs: Thorium is expensive to extract, despite its abundance.

 False Roots of Antisemitism

It was during a reception during my first business trip to Saudi Arabia that I heard what has prevailed among the anti-Jewish sentiments often spoken today: "They killed the Prophet." At that time, I did not understand those words spoken by a devout Muslim businessman, a graduate of Cornell University. My question to him was "why do Muslims hate the Jews?" As I later learned, he was referring to the Muslim prophet Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, the Qur'an refers to Jesus of Nazareth as the prophet Asa. Indeed, this sentiment has been attributed to the Roman Catholic church, but later refuted. [Kertzer DI. The Roman Catholic Church, the Holocaust, and the demonization of the Jews: Response to "Benjamin and us: Christianity, its Jews, and history" by Jeanne Favret-Saada. HAU. 2014 Winter;4(8):329-333. doi: 10.14318/hau4.3.020. PMID: 27011787; PMCID: PMC4800995. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800995/]

Although I am no bible scholar, my encounter with the wonderful people I met during my many trips to Saudi Arabia and my own curiosity led me to try to understand this sentiment that seems to underscore, at least partially, the rationale for the World War II holocaust, and the current rise of antisemitism. I purchased an English language translation of the Qur'an. [Note: Islam believes that only the Arabic version of the Qur'an is authentic.] There I learned that the foundation of Islam is the Torah, the first five books of Moses contained in the Old Testament of the bible, used by Jews and Christians alike. Islam reveres Moses (Musa), Noah (Nuh), Jesus (Asa), and Abraham (Ibrahim). The Qur'an is believed to be the transcription by Muhammad as dictated by the Archangel Gabriel beginning in year 610 of the Common Era (AD to Christians.)

As a dedicated Christian, I have been greatly troubled by antisemitism, especially since much of my family are practicing Jews. From my own understanding, I need to tell the story of the life of Jesus from my own perspective, which may not be the viewpoint of many theologians.

Jesus of Nazareth was a man who lived and died in ancient Israel. He was the son of a carpenter, and probably was an apprentice to his father Joseph. His mother, Mary was a young girl who at the time of Jesus' conception, was engaged to Joseph. Jesus was obviously a brilliant student of the scripture, and felt a strong calling to fix the prevailing religious practices and beliefs of his faith. When he was about 30 years old, he began his ministry by contacting has cousin John (the Baptist.) He recruited several young men and women to help him and began to demonstrate his mission by performing acts of healing and by teaching in the synagogue and to crowds gathered to hear his speeches. Sometime during his ministry, he began to understand that the people were looking for a political leader to free them from the Roman occupiers, not for a new religious leader. 

I am convinced that Jesus realized that he had to create an event that would be accurately recorded in history, be completely undeniable and authentic, and be spectacularly dramatic to illustrate the message that he was convinced needed to be told. The old Covenant of Moses was not enough to assure salvation; following the letter of the Law was insufficient to obtain the Grace of God. Half of the leaders of the Jewish clergy did not even believe in the afterlife. He felt the need to prove that there was life after death, and the only way to prove it was for him to die a proven death, and then rise from the dead himself. He had told this to his disciples over and over again, but they did not believe him. If his closest friends were not convinced, then how were others to believe. HE HAD TO DIE, AND RISE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD.

Jesus had earlier raised Lazarus from his death, but Jewish elders easily dismissed this as a recovery from an unknown disease. From that time, Jesus was determined to find a way for himself to die in such a way as to remove all doubt about his death, although he asked God to find another way. The New Testament gospels detail the many attempts of Jesus to violate provisions of the Law that seem to have no real valid purpose other than to irritate the Pharisees, but they did not have the power to execute Jesus; only Rome had that power. So Jesus had to do something that offended the Pharisees so much that they would accuse him of a crime against Rome itself so that he would be put to death by Rome authorities. The timing also had to be right - he probably knew that a total eclipse of the sun was about to happen during the upcoming Passover (always observed during a full moon. Note: this would be a miracle, since the position of the earth, moon, and sun can make a lunar eclipse possible during Passover, but a solar eclipse would require the moon to pass across the sun - this is not possible with a full moon that defines Passover.) That was the day for his death to occur. We know that Jesus refused to defend himself before Pilot. and a crucifixion was scheduled at that time. The Roman crucifixion was a public and undeniable death, just what was needed - and so it happened. Death upon the cross verified by a Roman guard when he pierced his side and bodily fluid ran out, but not blood; the Roman proof of death beyond a doubt. The sun was obscured during the eclipse and there was an earthquake as well splitting the veil in the Temple.

At sundown immediately following the crucifixion was the start of Passover, forcing his disciples to wait in hiding until the following Sunday to prepare his body for burial. In those days, it was considered woman's work to prepare the body for proper burial. A group of his women followers, including Mary of Magdala went to the temporary tomb where Jesus' body had been laid, but the heavy stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away and there was no body inside. The risen Jesus spoke to Mary who ran back to tell the rest of the disciples the good news, Jesus had risen from the dead just as he had been telling them. Jesus visited his disciples twice in the upper room and was seen by thousands of people in the following days. On the 40th day after his living body reappearance, scripture tells us that he ascended into heaven.

However, his work was still not done. His work was to correct the behavior of mankind, in his own words to establish the New Covenant that he had attempted to teach his disciples. While the remaining 11 disciples lead by Peter, and now including Stephen who replaced Judas, were good men, they seemed to be insufficient to the task of spreading the Gospel to the rest of the world. As promised, he returned, at Pentecost,  after his Ascension as the Holy Spirit giving them the power to speak and understand the languages of the people of the world, and granting them the power of healing as well. But, even then that was not enough - he needed a powerful speaker and organizer who was a Roman citizen and spoke and wrote in the language of the Roman empire of that day - Greek. For this, he needed to accomplish the greatest miracle of all - he needed to convert the most antagonistic Pharisee of that time - Saul of Tarsus.

The bible does not detail what happened after the healing of Saul's blindness resulting from his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, but Saul was converted to Paul, the most published author in the New Testament - without question the leading advocate of Christianity. In the biblical novel The Road to Bithynia by Frank G. Slaughter, the author postulates that Saul/Paul returned to his hometown, Tarsus, on the Mediterranean coast and supported himself in his trade as a sail and tent maker. During a period of three years, Paul had almost daily contact with Jesus to educate him and to instill in him the necessary spirit to take on the task of spreading the Good News among the Gentiles. To me, the conversion of Saul is one of the greatest miracle of the bible. The first and greatest miracle of the bible is the Resurrection of Jesus, the very foundation of Christianity. Since Jesus had to die in order to be resurrected, how can his death be the fault of any group of people. Blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus is the root of antisemitism and the holocaust, and as we have learned from this analysis - antisemitism is a false belief - a lie.

And if that was not enough, there was a pamphlet published in Russia in the 1890's called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that was fabricated, originally in French, explicitly to convince the population that a group of Jewish businessmen were plotting to control the world by taking over all business and eventually governments. [Protocols of the Elders of Zion/The lie that would not die; by Brigitte Sion] This was a complete fabrication, a lie, a hoax, written to inflame the world against the Jewish people. The actual author appears to be a Russian living in France. This pamphlet was translated into Russian and later used by Stalin to purge the Russian population of a great portion of its Jews. It was translated into German and used by the Nazis to explain the defeat of Germany in World War I, and eventually by Josef Goebbels the architect of Hitler's purge and extermination of the Jewish population of Europe - the Holocaust. All based on a hoax, a lie.