[ RadSafe ] Space travel, reactor enrichment

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, the cost of getting a
package out of the Earth's gravity well is going to be higher than
something like enriching uranium.  I personally have given a lot of
thought to how one can design a reactor for use on a space ship (I write
science fiction), and it is a non-trivial problem.  It is hard to run a
reactor that doesn't have a permanent "down" to produce density
gradients.  

As for launching an "atomic rocket" from the Earth; I haven't seen
anything that makes me believe anyone has figured out how to get that
much acceleration our of heating reaction mass with a reactor.  But I
acknowledge to not knowing nearly everything.  

I, for one, would not care to have to decon the launch site, however. 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of
JPreisig at aol.com
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2011 10:59 AM
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Space travel, reactor enrichment

Hey Radsafe,
 
       Hmmmmm.  Whether one uses sodium  or some other material in the 
primary loop of a reactor
on a space ship, one can use fast neutron fission to possibly avoid
using  
highly enriched
Uranium (or whatever) as a fuel.  Just use the usual 5% or whatever  
reactor grade enrichment in
U235.  Hmmmmm, sounds much less expensive than using 95% enriched
Uranium.
 
       Guess the mainland Chinese will have a  spaceship, based on all 
this, off the ground soon
(using technology the USA and other countries developed!!!!).
 
       Have a good  weekend!!!!      Regards,    Joseph R.  (Joe)
Preisig, 
PhD
 
 
 
 
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