Friday, December 21, 2007

You Can Have the Power

With Your Own Neighborhood Nuclear Reactor!

Hat tip: Ace

Toshiba builds micro nuclear reactor.

The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.

The down side is, that's still not enough to meet Al Gore's home energy needs.