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    China schlägt Amerika im Wettrennen um die Atomenergie


    China schlägt Amerika im Wettrennen um die Atomenergie

    https://www.economist.com/china/2024/09/12/china-is-beating-america-in-the-nuclear-energy-race

    View 29 Comments

    29 Comments

    1. BlitzOrion on

      Nuclear reactions create lots of heat, which is normally transferred by a coolant and then converted into electricity. With the pumps off, the nuclear fuel might have continued to heat up until it liquefied and damaged the reactor. Such “meltdowns” can release radiation. That is what happened in 2011 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan after a tsunami damaged its cooling systems.

      But no such disaster occurred at Shidaowan. At first the reactor did heat up. Then it cooled down before any damage was done, says a paper by the plant’s engineers published in July. This was thanks to the plant’s clever design. Conventional reactors are powered by long fuel rods containing uranium. At Shidaowan, though, the fuel is in the form of tiny particles of uranium coated with carbon and other chemicals, and embedded in tennis-ball-sized spheres. These are known as “pebbles”. They can cope with extremely high temperatures without melting.

      Shidaowan is an example of a “fourth generation” reactor. Scientists hope these models will be able to generate power more safely and efficiently than older ones. Many countries are trying to develop them.

    2. outtastudy on

      That’s not a surprise given that their government doesn’t even have to pretend to care about public opinion. Not praising their government in any way, just commenting on how the west avoids nuclear power development because everyone is unnecessarily scared after Chernobyl.

    3. bpsavage84 on

      Another day, another race. Everything is a race. Western media loves those fearmongering clicks.

    4. pr06lefs on

      Is it really a race if one side is sitting in the shade with an umbrella drink?

    6. lowcrawler on

      Frankly, China is beating America at most things… namely because they are under single-party control and we have to run everything past the approval of a bunch of backwards hillbillies and entrenched corporations.

    7. SweetChiliCheese on

      Fake news country is beating other fake news country in faking news.

    8. cjboffoli on

      Considering China’s significant annual contributions to pollution that is accelerating anthropogenic global warming, that they’re converting to nuclear is a win for mankind, not any one nation.

    9. kerodon on

      That’s wonderful. More sustainable energy is better for the planet. Environmental consciousness isn’t a race.

    11. Sleepdprived on

      They are just using tech we pioneered and abandoned 60 years ago.

    12. LucidSquid on

      Oh China is close to fusion? Tell me more. This is absolutely yellow journalism at its finest. China is a decade behind most US tech. They’ve only recently started producing reasonable analog night vision, which we’ve had for over 50 years.

    14. canal_boys on

      China is beating America in many things. I don’t know why CNN and Fox News are not talking more about it. We have to improve and innovate in many ways.

    15. I_Enjoy_Beer on

      China probably is beating the U.S. in nuclear power development.  “Beating” in the sense that they’re throwing up a bunch more nuclear facilities than the U.S.  It wouldn’t take much to beat the U.S. at that, we’re notoriously slow for nuclear development.  But, given China’s track record with construction, throwing up ghost cities of very poor quality, I don’t know that I’m entirely buying into these fourth generation reactors being incredibly advanced and safe, if they are even building what they say they are building.  Which is another consideration, given the government’s obfuscation of covid as well as their economic data.

    16. Filthybjj93 on

      I wouldn’t be racing this type of industry. Slow and steady would be my approach

    17. Zvenigora on

      Pebble-bed reactors are not a new technology. They have been around for a while.

    18. ARunOfTheMillPerson on

      Anything to get those two in a headline, huh? We’re running out of fresh water, by the way.

    19. shifty_coder on

      Not really a race when one side is duct-taped to a rocket sled while the other side is filling out forms in triplicate to propose new materials for the safety harness.

      I’ll take slow and steady in this race.

    20. huntmaster99 on

      There’s no incentive to do it here in the US, it’s not as profitable. The Chinese gov basically contracts companies to do this because they feel like it

    21. gcbeehler5 on

      China needs to do this as they don’t have a lot of innate energy stores. They’re very reliant in importing coal and oil. The opposite is true for the US, and so the US’s embrace on green energy and nuclear is more authentic than China’s spin on it.

    22. XTACHYKUN on

      “The Chinese Government is beating the rest of the world in the shittiest government race.”

    24. AutomaticAstigmatic on

      Well, I hope they do a better job of it than the Russians. We don’t need any more healine-making nuclear disasters.

    25. Chiliconkarma on

      If they keep safe and responsible, then good? They need a lot of power to operate.

    26. GhostVPN on

      What much normal ppl don’t

      1. China build und Invest years in Nuclo = established technology and workers with specific abilitys.
      2. Special industrial supply.

      The West country’s don’t have the ppl capacity, not enough, workers with specific abilitys to operate and mentioning.
      The West don’t invest in reaches as China do.
      And in China is the Nuclo thing in one hand not in privates firms.

    27. ToastTurtle on

      It is kind of funny, China is moving forward and the US is going to turn on 3 mile island again. I am sure it can be done safely but where are all of those low risk small reactors we have been waiting for?

    28. AffectEconomy6034 on

      day 482 of posting a “china is beating us in X technology” clickbait article challenge

    29. Independent-Ebb7658 on

      China does what China wants to do and what’s for it’s best interest.

      America does what Corporations want to do and what’s for Corporations best interest.

      It’s not even a fare game anymore.

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