Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Glow Softly and Carry a Big Stick

Tired of paying high electric bills but don't want your Redstate reading friends making fun of your solar panels? Thanks to the new Home Nuclear Reactor from Toshiba your fiscal conservatism can now be nuclear powered!

From Wired:

If we lived in a world where everyone was (a) smart and (b) trustworthy, Toshiba's micro-sized nuclear reactor, small enough to fit in the basement or a large shed, would be a slam-dunk solution to the energy/climate crisis.

Twenty foot long by six foot wide, the reactors produce 200kW of energy and run themselves: the entire thing is manufactured with the fuel within, and when it runs out, they can just send a truck to pick it up.

"Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy."



And if you happen to already own a USB missile launcher you'll soon be the envy of all of your hawkish conservative friends. Buy one today! (Warning: May cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, IAEA inspections, UN sanctions, acts of terrorism, and mutually assured destruction. Read instructions and consider moral implications before use. Waste disposal system not included.)

H/T FPW