John Beifuss Memphis Commercial Appeal Published 2:17 PM EST Jan 28, 2019 Sometimes you meet a person who is much smarter than you are. And sometimes that person is 14. Meet Jackson Oswalt. He built a nuclear fusion reactor in his Midtown home. This makes him, according to experts in the field, the youngest known “fusioneer” in United States — and probably world — history. So if much of Memphis is transformed into a large glowing crater any time soon, you’ll know who is responsible. Ha ha! Just kidding. Just a little nuclear fusion reactor humor for you! Jackson Oswalt and his parents are used to such stabs at humor. The jokes are a measure of how little most people understand Jackson’s achievement and the science behind it. "I think there is a great disbelief until they actually see it," said dad Chris Oswalt, who works at Smith & Nephew, a medical equipment company. In fact, Jackson’s homemade … [Read more...] about The Nuclear Kid: Memphis youth builds home nuclear fusion reactor
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The Beifuss File: Memphis youth builds home nuclear fusion reactor
John Beifuss Memphis Commercial Appeal Published 7:00 AM EST Jan 28, 2019 Sometimes you meet a person who is much smarter than you are. And sometimes that person is 14. Meet Jackson Oswalt. He built a nuclear fusion reactor in his Midtown home. This makes him, according to experts in the field, the youngest known “fusioneer” in United States — and probably world — history. So if much of Memphis is transformed into a large glowing crater any time soon, you’ll know who is responsible. Ha ha! Just kidding. Just a little nuclear fusion reactor humor for you! Jackson Oswalt and his parents are used to such stabs at humor. The jokes are a measure of how little most people understand Jackson’s achievement and the science behind it. "I think there is a great disbelief until they actually see it," said dad Chris Oswalt, who works at Smith & Nephew, a medical equipment company. In fact, Jackson’s homemade … [Read more...] about The Beifuss File: Memphis youth builds home nuclear fusion reactor
Former top regulator now says nuclear power ‘hazardous’
In explosive new book, calls for U.S. reactors to be shut down before 'catastrophe' Mark Albert, Hearst Television Chief National Investigative Correspondent Updated 4:36 pm PST, Monday, January 14, 2019 FILE - This Nov. 3, 2008 file photo shows one of Pacific Gas and Electric's Diablo Canyon Power Plant's nuclear reactors in Avila Beach, Calif. A panel created to develop a strategic vision for decommissioning of California's Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant wants the process to begin immediately after the Central Coast facility shuts down in the middle of the next decade. The report Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 by the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel will be sent to Pacific Gas & Electric and the California Public Utilities Commission. The panel seeks to have radiological decontamination completed 10 years after shutdown. less FILE - This Nov. 3, 2008 file photo shows one of Pacific Gas and Electric's Diablo Canyon Power Plant's nuclear reactors in Avila … [Read more...] about Former top regulator now says nuclear power ‘hazardous’
Electrical grid, power plants, pipelines vulnerable to cyber attack, security expert says
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The nation's electrical grid worked well for 80 years without the Internet, but today it is as vulnerable to cyber-based missteps and attacks as it was during the Great Blackout of 2003, says a national engineering security expert. This vulnerability cannot be protected by software engineers, Joseph Weiss, an electrical engineer and managing partner of California-based Applied Control Solutions, told a conference of security experts gathered at the IX Center on Tuesday. Weiss, a 40-year veteran mechanical and computer systems engineer including 15 years with the Electric Power Research Institute, has assisted congressional committees in trying to figure out how to harden the national gird and is currently helping the Nuclear Regulatory Commission develop new rules for power plant security. Joseph WeissPlain Dealer file He blames Information Technology, or IT, engineers for the failure to develop engineering to protect the grid as well as pipelines, power … [Read more...] about Electrical grid, power plants, pipelines vulnerable to cyber attack, security expert says
This Nuclear Power Plant Is Designed Like Fukushima—and Florence Is Heading Straight for It
Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild via Getty Images Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. This story was originally published by Wired. It appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. On March 11, 2011, a one-two, earthquake-tsunami punch knocked out the safety systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, triggering an explosion of hydrogen gas and meltdowns in three of its six reactors—the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Fukushima’s facility was built with 1960s technology, designed at a time when engineers underestimated plant vulnerabilities during natural disasters. In the US, 20 plants with similar designs are currently operating. One of them is slated for a head-on collision with Hurricane Florence. Duke Energy Corp’s dual-reactor, 1,870-megawatt Brunswick plant sits four miles inland from Cape Fear, a pointy headland jutting out into the … [Read more...] about This Nuclear Power Plant Is Designed Like Fukushima—and Florence Is Heading Straight for It