Inflation Reduction Act

glennds
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Re: Inflation Reduction Act

Post by glennds » Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:06 pm

Mountaineer wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:59 am

I took a post graduate level nuclear engineering class in college several decades ago. We studied all reactor designs as I recall, from those used in submarines to those developed for the electrical power industry. By and large, reactors are generally safe; but as someone said upstream, anything designed and made by man is subject to failure - bridges still collapse, airplanes crash, toilets leak, etc. Nuclear waste is hazardous and long lasting (overall it is probably no more hazardous than many other chemicals and biological products, it's just that the word nuclear has an emotional scare factor associated with it - like the word cyanide has). Because nuclear waste is so long lasting, it is important to place it in geological sites that are not prone to earthquakes and are as best science can tell stable for a very long time; you don't want to put it is just anyone's back yard.
Moutaineer, given your education, you might be in a position to know the answer - How radical a technology change are the new next generation nuclear reactors over what has existed traditionally? Are they a brand new thing, or a merely a tweak on the old tech?
I hear them referenced as SMR (Small Modular Reactors) and Gates' Terrapower, who recently went into partnership with the Federal Government calls theirs TWR (Traveling Wave Reactor).
If you believe the Terrapower literature, it's all pros and few cons, even with regard to waste. I think they claim a five factor reduction in waste, and an 80% reduction in use of enriched uranium.
But I know some of the scientific journals are skeptical. It's hard for a layperson to know. So if you any insight, it would be helpful.
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Mountaineer
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Re: Inflation Reduction Act

Post by Mountaineer » Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:38 pm

glennds wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:06 pm
Mountaineer wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:59 am

I took a post graduate level nuclear engineering class in college several decades ago. We studied all reactor designs as I recall, from those used in submarines to those developed for the electrical power industry. By and large, reactors are generally safe; but as someone said upstream, anything designed and made by man is subject to failure - bridges still collapse, airplanes crash, toilets leak, etc. Nuclear waste is hazardous and long lasting (overall it is probably no more hazardous than many other chemicals and biological products, it's just that the word nuclear has an emotional scare factor associated with it - like the word cyanide has). Because nuclear waste is so long lasting, it is important to place it in geological sites that are not prone to earthquakes and are as best science can tell stable for a very long time; you don't want to put it is just anyone's back yard.
Moutaineer, given your education, you might be in a position to know the answer - How radical a technology change are the new next generation nuclear reactors over what has existed traditionally? Are they a brand new thing, or a merely a tweak on the old tech?
I hear them referenced as SMR (Small Modular Reactors) and Gates' Terrapower, who recently went into partnership with the Federal Government calls theirs TWR (Traveling Wave Reactor).
If you believe the Terrapower literature, it's all pros and few cons, even with regard to waste. I think they claim a five factor reduction in waste, and an 80% reduction in use of enriched uranium.
But I know some of the scientific journals are skeptical. It's hard for a layperson to know. So if you any insight, it would be helpful.
Good question but I don’t know the answer. I have not studied the SMR or TWR technologies.
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Re: Inflation Reduction Act

Post by Kbg » Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:42 pm

Disjointed post coming…

I remember a navy submariner coming to a science class in high school and he said you get way more radiation flying at altitude in an airliner than he did working on a nuclear sub.

On buy backs…what the tax law giveth the tax law taketh away. Putting aside good or bad, buy backs were made tax advantageous due to tax law, this essentially forces all distributions of profits to be taxable when executed I believe. Dividends or buybacks are a debit to cash and really are the same thing. It was inconsistent and penalized companies who were happy to just give direct cash back to their shareholders.

The double taxation thing however is annoying (I.e tax the company and tax the shareholders for the same activity).
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Re: Inflation Reduction Act

Post by vnatale » Sat Aug 13, 2022 9:33 am

Kbg wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:42 pm

Disjointed post coming…

I remember a navy submariner coming to a science class in high school and he said you get way more radiation flying at altitude in an airliner than he did working on a nuclear sub.

On buy backs…what the tax law giveth the tax law taketh away. Putting aside good or bad, buy backs were made tax advantageous due to tax law, this essentially forces all distributions of profits to be taxable when executed I believe. Dividends or buybacks are a debit to cash and really are the same thing. It was inconsistent and penalized companies who were happy to just give direct cash back to their shareholders.

The double taxation thing however is annoying (I.e tax the company and tax the shareholders for the same activity).


My concern was not with the radiation that either a nuclear power plant or a submarine are continually emitting .... but the possibilities of a nuclear accident with severe consequences. It's one of those maybe extremely low probabilities but with potentially devastating consequences. So much so that still today none of us are covered in the case of damage to our properties due to a nuclear accident.
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Re: Inflation Reduction Act

Post by Maddy » Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:26 am

Desert wrote:
Tue Aug 09, 2022 3:30 pm
The urge to be known as a victim is very strong in the U.S. right now. I've never seen it this bad.
Right out of the abusive husband playbook:

"You really need to see a shrink. I've never laid a hand on you. When have I ever once laid a hand on you? Always making things up for attention. You're mentally ill, and frankly it's really getting on my nerves. Maybe you need a stint in a hospital or something. I could arrange for that, you know. You just don't appreciate everything I do around here to keep you happy, and off you go again making shit up. You really ought to see a shrink."
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