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ORNL Restores US Capability To Produce Plutonium-238 (ornl.gov)

Posted by Soulskill on from the back-in-business dept.

hypnosec writes: Oak Ridge National Laboratory has successfully produced 50 grams of plutonium-238, an isotope that produces heat without a lot of other, problematic radiation. This makes it suitable for use in radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which can power space probes. The new sample effectively revives the U.S.'s end-to-end plutonium-238 production capabilities, which have been dormant for around 30 years since work was stopped at the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina. The ORNL is optimistic this important milestone will pave the way for regular production of the material, ensuring constant supply for NASA's future missions.

3 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Re:it's all fun and games... by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Might put an ion out.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  2. Re:Need to protect it well. by donscarletti · · Score: 5, Funny

    According to Wikipedia, one gram of plutonium-238 generates approximately 0.5 watts of thermal power. Thus, 2420 tonnes of Pu-238 will generate 1.21 GW for decades.

    An alkaline AA battery weighs 23 g and can put out just over 1 watt of electrical power without overheating. You would need 27830 tonnes of them to output 1.21 GW for about 2 hours.

    A golden hamster weighs 125 grams and apparently generates a maximum of 0.4 watts (according to google). This means you need about 378125 tonnes of hamster to generate 1.21 GW for a few hours.

    Thus, PU-238 is clearly the most practical solution of those mentioned.

    --
    When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
  3. Hamsters make themselves by raymorris · · Score: 4, Funny

    Interesting facts.
    PU-238 is hard to make.
    AA batteries are easy to make.
    Hamsters make themselves.

    PU-238 is clearly the least practical solution of those mentioned. :)