It’s Time to Fall in Love with Nuclear Fusion—Again
If nuclear fission is associated with catastrophe, nuclear fusion is associated with delay and fraud. The joke about fusion, the synthesis of lab-grown…
Browsing Tag
nuclear power
The Dream of Mini Nuclear Plants Hangs in the Balance
NuScale says it stands by cost estimates based on its new design, and that it has long been in touch with regulators about the revisions. “We don't expect…
A Tale of Two Nuclear Plants Reveals Europe’s Energy Divide
A forest of wind turbines rises out of the fields on both sides of the highway running east out of Vienna. But at the border with Slovakia, which stretches…
Ukraine’s Biggest Nuclear Plant Needs a Safety Zone
Until Ukraine and Russia reach an agreement, the plant remains in danger. “There’s no question: There should not be any military operations at the plant or…
Alan Ahn Says Nuclear Is Still the Carbon-Free Fuel of the Future
“We need nuclear energy to fight climate change,” says Alan Ahn, a senior fellow at Third Way, a think tank that advocates for the industry. But he…
Mars Colonies Will Need Solar Power—and Nuclear Too
But the weight of the needed solar equipment would go up to more than 20 tons for a Mars outpost closer to the poles. Mars is tilted on its axis by about 25…
The Nuclear Reactors of the Future Have a Russia Problem
Say you want to make nuclear fuel: Take some uranium, and with molecular wizardry, transform this heavy metallic element into a gas. Then put it in a…
The Situation at Chernobyl Is Deteriorating
Two weeks ago, Russian forces seized control of the defunct Chernobyl, once the site of the world’s worst nuclear meltdown, and Zaporizhzhya, Europe’s…
The Race to Rescue Ukraine’s Power Grid From Russia
The test was supposed to last for 72 hours. In late February, as Russian troops massed at the border and the world held its breath, engineers at Ukrenergo,…
Risks to Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants Are Small—but Not Zero
On Thursday, invading Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine near the Belarus border. The site of the infamous meltdown in the…