Final Review

Wilson, Taylor. (February 2013). My radical plan for small nuclear fission reactors

http://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_wilson_my_radical_plan_for_small_nuclear_fission_reactors

For my review, I decided on a talk by Taylor Wilson, a scientist who built his first nuclear fusion reactor when he was fourteen years old.  I decided to do my review on this talk because I have always been interested in nuclear power.  Taylor Wilson is a scientist who has built a fusion reactor and worked on many other radiation products.  In this talk, Wilson describes the design of a new type of fission reactor.  His design uses the same process as all current nuclear reactors, but in a safer and easier package.

Wilson starts by describing the current state of nuclear power.  Currently, fuel rods heat up, which boils water which turns a turbine.  He describes it as being very similar to how we've been generating power for the past hundred years, only with a novel energy source.  Wilson's proposal is to build small modular reactors in a factory, instead of the larger reactors that we currently rely on.  By building them in a factory, the reactors can easily be shipped all over the world.  His reactor uses molten salts as opposed to water, which also means that they can use waste materials from nuclear weapons.  By replacing the water with CO2 or helium as a final fluid, the temperature of the turbine goes up making the reactor more efficient.  By using salts, Wilson's reactor is less pressurized, can't meltdown, and is much easier to disable in the case of an accident.  The reactors are sealed and placed in an underground pit, which makes them harder to use for nuclear weapons purposes.  Wilson even goes so far as to think forwards to space and exploration.  When not activated, his design is more inert than the batteries already in use for rovers.  The power provided by a reactor would be much higher and more reliable than that of any solar panel.

Wilson raises some good points.  Nuclear does provide an extremely viable option for clean power of the future.  There are multiple new designs that provide a much safer and more stable power plant  for energy generation than all of the current designs still in service from the 70s and the 80s.  His thought of mass production is also a good way to move the technology forwards.  The automobile industry did not take off until mass production, along with several other industries.  It stands to reason that this industry would also have the same effect.  Wilson does a very good job of presenting his design and the advantages it possesses compared to the current standard reactor design.  However, there are several other designs for newer, safer reactors, and Wilson fails to mention any of them, nor does he mention what potential advantages they have compared to his design or the current design.  Wilson does a good job of selling his design, and that was the purpose of his talk, however the lack of comparison to his competition leads to some doubt about how good his design actually is.

I have always believed that nuclear power is the way of the future.  It is clean and easy power that is much more abundant and more easily harvested than any other form of clean energy.  I would find it interesting to be working in the nuclear industry even if I am not planning to.  This provides an excellent view of the future of one of our most advanced power sources.  Nuclear is clean, easy power and the designs just keep getting better and better.

Taylor Wilson's talk presents a bright view for the future of nuclear power.  If he is presenting reactor designs when he is just 17, what will he do later?  He is excited about nuclear power and shares that excitement with the viewer, which helps make his point even stronger.