Bill Gates announces the nuclear reactor of the future: why could it be a revolution?

Nuclear energy is one of the most controversial ways to obtain energy. On the one hand, it is true that emissions greenhouse gaseswhich makes it much more effective in combating changing of the climate. But, on the other hand, this entails a number of risks that we cannot ignore. The Chernobyl or Fukushima nuclear power plants are good examples of what can happen if human error or a natural disaster occurs that puts the stability of the reaction at risk. For this reason, many scientists already trust sodium nuclear reactor as a clean and safe option for the future.

The first nuclear power plant with one of these reactors is already being built in Russia. Kemmerer, Wyoming, created by Terra Power, a company created in 2008 by Bill Gates. The choice of location is not accidental. In addition to having land suitable for development, Wyoming is a state in the country with increase in coal production. The goal will be to transfer workers from this polluting industry to sodium reactor based production. This way, no one will be harmed by the changes.

Construction of the facility continues, but the appropriate permits for conducting a nuclear fission reaction have not yet been received. In fact, they are expected to take about two years. If all goes well, the sodium nuclear reactor will start working. by 2030. Bill Gates and his team have 6 years to convince suspicious scientists that this is indeed a safe option. But what exactly does it consist of?

Traditional nuclear fission versus sodium nuclear reactor

In general, a nuclear reactor is a device that separates atoms of a radioactive element, usually uranium. This is a chain reaction, as a result of which the resulting particles collide with other nuclei, causing them to also divide. Moreover, this exothermic reaction, which releases a lot of heat. This heat is used to convert liquid water into steam, which later drives turbines that help produce electricity.

All this is typical for both traditional nuclear reactors and sodium-type nuclear reactors. The difference is cooling mechanism. A nuclear reactor generates so much heat that the pressure can increase greatly, causing an explosion. This would be similar to what happens when a hot air balloon is heated. The gas particles move faster, the pressure increases and finally it explodes.

If this happened in a nuclear reactor, large amounts of radioactive uranium would be released into the environment. Chernobyl is a good example of how serious this can be. For this reason, water jackets are used that circulate around the uranium to cool it. Unfortunately, this creates two problems. On the one hand, water can only absorb heat. up to 100 ºC. At this point it completely turns to steam and can no longer cool, so more water must be pumped. This pumping requires electricity, so an accidental power outage could stop the pumping and shut down the reactor. overheat. Again, the likelihood of an explosion increases.

Sodium-type reactors exchange water for liquid metal, in this case sodium. Its boiling point 8 times more than water, so they can absorb much more heat. Plus you don’t need to download it. When heated, it rises, but then cools and can absorb heat again. Therefore, if there is a power outage, the reactor will continue to cool properly.

Some reluctance

Ever since Bill Gates announced that he would build a sodium nuclear reactor in Wyoming, many suspicious scientists have appeared. Actually, Union of Concerned Scientists published a report indicating that this type of reactor may also pose a danger. For example, this will be so effective that much larger supplies of uranium will be required, which will put the nuclear power plant in the crosshairs of possible terrorists. Additionally, they believe that not enough testing has been done to truly demonstrate safety against possible power outages.

They believe that the procedure will have to be studied in more detail. For now US National Regulatory Commission is already considering Terra Power’s application to build a sodium reactor. It is they who will finally decide whether there are reasons to move on. Bill Gates and his team are confident that this will happen. And, without a doubt, if they keep their promise, it will be a real revolution in the field of nuclear energy.