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Baraka_Guru · 12-22-2007, 05:38 PM

Aside from a break-even point that would make this unfeasible for many, there is also this problem:

lithium-6 + deuterium = hydrogen bomb

Will there be security measures in place? How much of this stuff is in each core, and how difficult would it be to get at it? Just how well will small-town America be able to look after their shiny new mini-reactor?

EDIT: Terrorist paranoia aside, there is the cost issue that keeps nagging me. This doesn't seem like a personal reactor.

If the average household energy consumption is 4,500 kilowatt-hours per annum, and this reactor produces it at $0.05, how much is the break-even point? Even if the unit costs at little as $250,000, it would require around 5,000,000 kilowatt-hours of use to break even (i.e. to match the cost savings over the grid). That would take over 1,000 years for a single home....or, 100 years for 10 homes. So it would take around 20 homes to make it worth while. That is, if it costs as little as $250,000, which I sincerely doubt. It could easily cost over four times that amount, which would mean it might even take over 100 homes to make it worth it.

*Please let me know if my math is wrong; math is my weakness.

12-22-2007, 05:38 PM	#18 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Aside from a break-even point that would make this unfeasible for many, there is also this problem: lithium-6 + deuterium = hydrogen bomb Will there be security measures in place? How much of this stuff is in each core, and how difficult would it be to get at it? Just how well will small-town America be able to look after their shiny new mini-reactor? EDIT: Terrorist paranoia aside, there is the cost issue that keeps nagging me. This doesn't seem like a personal reactor. If the average household energy consumption is 4,500 kilowatt-hours per annum, and this reactor produces it at $0.05, how much is the break-even point? Even if the unit costs at little as $250,000, it would require around 5,000,000 kilowatt-hours of use to break even (i.e. to match the cost savings over the grid). That would take over 1,000 years for a single home....or, 100 years for 10 homes. So it would take around 20 homes to make it worth while. That is, if it costs as little as $250,000, which I sincerely doubt. It could easily cost over four times that amount, which would mean it might even take over 100 homes to make it worth it. Please let me know if my math is wrong; math is my weakness. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?* —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 12-22-2007 at 05:56 PM..