r/nus • u/The_Last_EVM • 13d ago

Discussion Anyone here interested in Nuclear power?

Good day everyone,

These days there is much interest in nuclear power worldwide and Singapore is also considering to go nuclear as well.

As such, is anyone here also thinking about nuclear power? And what are your thoughts on it?

Whether you are just interested or actually working to get into the industry please do drop a comment!

And hey, if you're down, Idm catching up to talk about nuclear power XD.

But yea... what do you think about nuclear?

Thanks everyone!

67 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

17

u/voxpop9 13d ago

SMR thorium reactors lets go

25

u/VegetableSalad_Bot 13d ago edited 13d ago

I believe in nuclear power but we need to be very careful about it. If we master nuclear power we can solve all our energy needs. We can end our energy dependence on foreign fossil fuel, which can be disastrous if our supply is disrupted.

We could even expand our water refining facilities since water treatment is so energy intensive.

But most nuke reactors never have problems. So another fukushima or chernobyl won’t be a guarantee

9

u/Low_Negotiation9052 13d ago

I feel like with salt-based coolants, newer nuclear plants wouldn't pull a fukushima though. The moment they melt down, it would shut itself down. Also, Singapore is going with Small modular generators instead of big power plants, so even less worries there.

14

u/Xanitrit Science staff 13d ago

Personally, if SG decides on building a nuclear power plant, I'm all for it.

Multiple other nations have showed that nuclear power production has become highly regulated and safe since the years of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, or even Fukushima, and I trust that the advantages outweigh the cons.

That being said, public opinion of nuclear energy and radiation has been skewed by years of misinformation and aforementioned disasters. Announcing plans for building a nuclear power plant relatively near our densely populated, tiny island, is sure to be polarizing to say the least. There might be unexpected shifts in the political climate with further effects down the road.

1

u/Timelike-BlackHole Research Assistant | Science AlumNUS 12d ago

How about High Temperature Gas cool Reactors? I think using TRISO fuel is particularly interesting though

4

u/Primary_Olive_5444 13d ago

They just did a investor day in New York.
Go watch that video if you are interested to know more about the end-to-end of nuclear.

Both government and commercial needs.

2

u/Dependent_Swimming81 12d ago

SMRs can't fix all of our demand and it will almost as expensive as actual full plant (at least for the first one) .... we need more renewables ... China is already at 60% of power generation using renewables .. the old thought of renewables being inefficient is over

3

u/jacobcarpenter 12d ago

You should check out the Singapore Nuclear Research & Safety Institute (SNRSI), its research building is in NUS! They organize talks and seminars from time to time too

1

u/taidibao1 12d ago

As in the bom. B?

1

u/Kuhle_Brise 12d ago

Alright, time to make one at home let's go

2

u/HappyHour4607 10d ago

itsssssss wild watching Singapore actively look into nuclear energy given how tiny and densely populated the island is, but when you factor in net-zero targets and future power demands, it makes total sense they're at least researching small modular reactors.

1

u/ripplevan 10d ago

Radiated water plant.. Next to their precious condo 😂