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Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
I. Pázsit, Y. Yamane
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 133 | Number 3 | November 1999 | Pages 269-281
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE99-A2087
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas are calculated for subcritical systems driven by a multiple emission source, i.e., one that emits several neutrons on each source emission event. The prime example of such sources is a spallation source, which will be used in future accelerator-driven subcritical systems (ADS), such as the energy amplifier. The Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas are calculated with backward master equations for such systems. The essence of the theory is a formula that connects the probability distribution of a cascade, induced by one single particle, with that induced by a continuous source of particles. Compact and consistent expressions are found for both the Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas. In agreement with earlier forward-theory-based or heuristic calculations, it is shown that the presence of the spallation source does not alter the time-dependence of the formulas, but enhances its amplitude. Hence, both methods appear to be promising to be used in future stationary ADS systems with relatively large subcriticalities.