Originally Posted by
rickair7777
The article doesn't specify whether it's an RTG or an actual critical fission plant.
An RTG is more what I'd describe as a "battery".
I'm guessing actual fission since they seem to be dancing around the topic of how it works. It would be possible to build a sort of "solid state" fission plant with low enough core energy density such that liquid cooling is not required, which could allow a much smaller and less-complex plant.
No reason this can't work but personally it seems safer to consolidate fission generation in large plants rather than spread out through the community?
It's a compact fast reactor. The details are kept secret, but the application was for up to 20% enrichment, so I assume they use the expansion and contraction of the moderator(unspecified metal) to control the fission rate.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of large power plants, however, after the left successfully trashed V.C. Summer, that ship has probably sailed in the US.