Learning from the Past to Build a Brighter

Learning from the Past to Build a Brighter Future Socio-Economic Aspects of Fusion Energy

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory “Enabling a world powered by safe, clean and plentiful fusion energy while leading discoveries in plasma science and technology. ”

My Internship: A Case Study of Nuclear Fission How can past successes and failures shape the future?

Two Approaches to Nuclear Fission Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs)

Boiling Water Reactors Ø Brainchild of Samuel Untermyer II and brought to the market through a collaboration of General Electric and the Idaho National Laboratory. Ø Heat produced by the reactor core causes water to boil. The produced steam is directly used to drive a turbine and then condensed.

Pressurized Water Reactors Ø Utilizes a two-loop system, preventing the primary coolant from spreading any possible radioactivity. Ø Originally designed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, several hundred PWRs are used for marine propulsion due to their stability and the insistence of Admiral Hyman Rickover.

Admiral Rickover and the Nuclear Navy “Admittedly, one man by himself cannot do the job. However, one man can make a difference. . . We must live for the future of the human race, and not for our own comfort or success. ”

Lessons we can Learn Hedging our bets with multiple research paths.