Slashdot Mirror
Samurai-Sword Maker May Cool Nuclear Revival
NobleSavage sends a story from Bloomberg about Japan Steel Works Ltd., a company that still makes Samurai swords, and how it may control the fate of the global nuclear-energy renaissance. "There stands the only plant in the world, a survivor of Allied bombing in World War II, capable of producing the central part of a nuclear reactor's containment vessel in a single piece, reducing the risk of a radiation leak. Utilities that won't need the equipment for years are making $100 million down payments now on components Japan Steel makes from 600-ton ingots. Each year the Tokyo-based company can turn out just four of the steel forgings that contain the radioactivity in a nuclear reactor. Even after it doubles capacity in the next two years, there won't be enough production to meet building plans."
Psh, you're missing the point. URANIUM SWORD! And we could create uranium sword wielding robots. This has badass written all over it and highlighted with AWESOME.
>I don't think I would want to be near a Chinese forged reactor core
>any time in my life. QC does not seem to be their strong point.
On the plus side, it is very likely to come coated in lead.
That's good in this case, right?