[ RadSafe ] Brain Salad Surgery, Nuclear Propulsion

[JPreisig at aol.com]

Dear Radsafe:
 
    Hey you all.  I'm sure a full brain transplant is  quite far off in the 
future.  But perhaps someday soon,
transplants involving 1/4 to 1/2 of a brain could occur.???  This  would be 
done to repair brain problems
of various sorts.
 
    Yes, I'm sure finding a donor brain and a brain match  would be quite 
an undertaking.  On the Program 
60 Minutes (USA) there had been a story about growing whole body organs  
from a sample of tissue.
I'm sure growing a whole brain from a brain tissue sample in some  
laboratory glassware would be
quite a challenge.  
 
   Yet I could imagine drilling into a willing brain tissue  donor's brain, 
grabbing a bit of brain tissue
and growing a brain in some lab glassware.  Of course, the brain must  be a 
good blood type etc.
match.  From the film Young Frankenstein, you might recall what  happens 
when you start such
work with a non-optimal brain.
 
   Good Luck to any neurosurgeon attempting such work.
 
   On an unrelated topic, with respect to Fukushima and aircraft  carriers, 
expect attorneys to act like
attorneys.  I doubt a Japanese or World Courts will look favorably on  any 
such lawsuit.
 
   Now for some nuclear propulsion, of aircraft, jets,  submarines, flying 
saucers, other spacecraft etc.
Clearly a Fusion propulsion system would be nice, if that ever  happens.
 
  A fission-based propulsion system might be nice also.  The  fission 
propulsion system could use
highly-enriched Uranium or Plutonium (reaching 100% enrichment levels???),  
rather than the usual 
3 to 5% reactor enrichment levels.  Such a reactor could be a thermal  
neutron reactor, or perhaps 
might be designed to work with both thermal and fast neutrons. 
 
   Enriched Uranium and/or Plutonium is probably readily gotten  from the 
Pantex Storage Facility.  I'm sure 
it would be quite a trick to turn the enriched Uranium and/or  Plutonium 
into fuel rods.
 
   Sounds like the US Government used to work on such  things.  
Fusion/Fission propulsion 
probably could generate Energies that are at least a factor of 1000 more  
energetic then ordinary
chemical propulsion.  Enrichment of the Uranium and/or Plutonium would  
increase the energy
efficiency beyond this factor of 1000...
 
   Yes, of course, power impulse considerations might limit the  ability of 
a fission/fusion spacecraft
to directly launch from the Earth's surface.  We'll see.
 
   Advanced power/energy propulsion systems are probably part of  the big 
secret behind modern
aircraft, jets, rockets, spaceships being developed by modern  nations.
 
   Could kids affected by Thalidomide be fixed by a partial brain  
transplant???  Would gene therapy
be helpful in treating such patients????
 
    Be Good..    Regards,  Joe  Preisig