Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Pricing

Jeff Brumfield

👤 Person
298 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

Yeah, it sounds great. I mean, the question is, can they make it work? The thing is only on paper right now. There's never been a reactor like it built in the U.S. before. There is one operating in China, but that's only a demo project. There's a lot of things that can make this really tricky to get running. For example, normal reactors use water to cool their core. The water runs through.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

Yeah, it sounds great. I mean, the question is, can they make it work? The thing is only on paper right now. There's never been a reactor like it built in the U.S. before. There is one operating in China, but that's only a demo project. There's a lot of things that can make this really tricky to get running. For example, normal reactors use water to cool their core. The water runs through.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

It turns into steam. The steam goes into a heat exchanger, and that heat runs a turbine. It's actually quite similar to how other kinds of power plants work. But this reactor is going to use high pressure helium gas. It's a completely new coolant. Also, these pebbles that they're fabricating haven't been used as reactor fuel before either. There's just a lot more uncertainty in the design.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

It turns into steam. The steam goes into a heat exchanger, and that heat runs a turbine. It's actually quite similar to how other kinds of power plants work. But this reactor is going to use high pressure helium gas. It's a completely new coolant. Also, these pebbles that they're fabricating haven't been used as reactor fuel before either. There's just a lot more uncertainty in the design.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

It turns into steam. The steam goes into a heat exchanger, and that heat runs a turbine. It's actually quite similar to how other kinds of power plants work. But this reactor is going to use high pressure helium gas. It's a completely new coolant. Also, these pebbles that they're fabricating haven't been used as reactor fuel before either. There's just a lot more uncertainty in the design.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And so it's going to take time to make sure it works and then convince the regulators to let it operate.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And so it's going to take time to make sure it works and then convince the regulators to let it operate.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And so it's going to take time to make sure it works and then convince the regulators to let it operate.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

You know, that's exactly the question to ask, right? This AI revolution is happening right now. I mean, it's at breakneck speeds. And because of accidents like Three Mile Island, nothing in the nuclear industry ever happens quickly. Everything has to be scrutinized and done very, very carefully, regulated, overseen. These are just two super different engineering cultures.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

You know, that's exactly the question to ask, right? This AI revolution is happening right now. I mean, it's at breakneck speeds. And because of accidents like Three Mile Island, nothing in the nuclear industry ever happens quickly. Everything has to be scrutinized and done very, very carefully, regulated, overseen. These are just two super different engineering cultures.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

You know, that's exactly the question to ask, right? This AI revolution is happening right now. I mean, it's at breakneck speeds. And because of accidents like Three Mile Island, nothing in the nuclear industry ever happens quickly. Everything has to be scrutinized and done very, very carefully, regulated, overseen. These are just two super different engineering cultures.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And the way I've come to think about it is Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break. Yeah. So Sharon Squassoni is a research professor at George Washington University who studied nuclear power's potential to fight climate change.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And the way I've come to think about it is Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break. Yeah. So Sharon Squassoni is a research professor at George Washington University who studied nuclear power's potential to fight climate change.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And the way I've come to think about it is Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break. Yeah. So Sharon Squassoni is a research professor at George Washington University who studied nuclear power's potential to fight climate change.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And she wonders whether Silicon Valley really knows what they're getting into.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And she wonders whether Silicon Valley really knows what they're getting into.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

And she wonders whether Silicon Valley really knows what they're getting into.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

Given the history of all the nuclear projects that have run behind schedule and gone over costs, she really wonders whether this is the right investment to be making.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

Given the history of all the nuclear projects that have run behind schedule and gone over costs, she really wonders whether this is the right investment to be making.

Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power

Given the history of all the nuclear projects that have run behind schedule and gone over costs, she really wonders whether this is the right investment to be making.