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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 8h

They managed to convince the ACRS to license it, which is even more remarkable.

Even more cursed thought, it's a forced recirc BWR... Could they get power oscillations after a loss of recirculation? I wonder what their power range monitoring scheme looked like.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 8h

Finally, the AEC loved giving HEU to everyone. Glares at all the research reactors originally licensed to run on it

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 9h

I'm just glad that someone else appreciates exactly how deranged this design was

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 9h

Look, the 1960s were a wild time. ATWS (anticipated transient without scram) is a term that came later than this design, but having a slow run back in the HEU portion of the core certainly is a choice that you can make.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 9h

They seriously damaged the superheater fuel elements too. Also, can you imagine the core physics for something like this? Particularly if say, you had something like an ATWS with an MSIV closure?

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 19h

www.ans.org/news/article...

Pathfinder: A Path Not Taken

www.ans.org

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 19h

The little ashtray is from Pathfinder. It was an Allis Chalmers BWR built by Northern States Power. It was an interesting design with direct nuclear superheat built into the core. They managed to run it at full power for 30 minutes and then decommissioned it before they built their other plants.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 1d

In continuing tales of nuclear, something for @nuclearanna.bsky.social . Fuel pellet cards were a common promotional item for plants. This one is from the ANS, paired with probably the fanciest example I've ever seen (from Trojan). This continues today (the local utility gives them away at Pride)

A paperweight and postcard with simulated nuclear fuel pellets and a description of the energy content equivalent on fossil fuels

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 1d

Given the already poor state of morale for most federal agencies, deliberately screwing over their employees that way would not be ideal.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 3d

All you need is a jet with afterburners and an ejection seat. Plenty of time.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 3d

Much angrier. Boasberg was cold anger. This was much more direct.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 4d

I mean, they did force her to do a 7pm hearing on a Sunday. I feel like that should have been a warning to the government from the start.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 4d

This might have been the angriest judge of any of the cases I've listened to this year.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 4d

She expanded it to any federalized NG it sounds like

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 4d

Might be a copy paste error from the previous scheduling order

diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 4d

We just need to harness this energy and the infrastructure crisis is solved.

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 5d

I've always joked that LANL/nuclear writ large is like working for the Laundry in a Stross novel. You're not curing that impression 😂

diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 5d

This is bad in hindsight, I think about this one a lot.

a cartoon of a man in a suit and tie sitting at a desk

Alt: a cartoon of a man in a suit and tie sitting at a desk saying "I was elected to lead not to read"

media.tenor.com

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 6d

Some of our majestic goobers

diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 8d

It has been a pleasant surprise to discover that generation of legal minds actually believes in their principles. Not that I always agree, but it's respectable

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 9d

Laws like the Hatch Act and the PCA requiring the executive to enforce against itself seem inherently problematic these days

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 10d

I mean, for Lamberth, it seems like it's apparently a return to form

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 10d

I'll have to find a job paywalled version of that article. What was the DoI conduct at issue back then?

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 11d

Although I guess in this case, it would be the opposite of that trope

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diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 11d

I see stuff like this all the time. "Here are three options, one we like, one we'd be ok with, and one bananas option just for completeness". Call it the arson, murder, and jaywalking school of policy making

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