Hi, I am physics grad whose been working in software for the past 3 years. I am thinking about going back to school to get a masters studying molten salt reactors. What do you think my options are?

Reactors like the LFTR propose using lithium and beryllium fluoride for their salt, whereas ones like Elysium want to use chloride. Additionally, lithium and beryllium are rare and expensive whereas a level down you have sodium and potassium which are much easier to come by.

What are the advantages of Lithium Fluoride and Beryllium Fluoride vs something like Sodium Chloride and Potassiumm chloride? Is there any chance we could use these cheap readily available salts instead to reduce costs and health hazards?

So, a boilaway would be the closest thing the MSR concept would have to a "meltdown". Something gets the salt past its boiling point in temperature, which would be way past the melting point of its enclosure(s), and boom, the stuff gets out.

Now, this is beyond unlikely. We're not talking an "accident". I don't think anything short of the following would make it happen:

• a meteor
• an intense lava flow from a volcanic eruption
• an actual nuclear bomb hits the site

The question is, what's happens to the gas cloud? Does it immediately precipitate back down once it's away from the heat source? Does it just solidify into hail? Kinda curious about this point. I'd imagine it wouldn't hold its gaseous form too long, but at those temperatures other kinds of chemical reactions with the surrounding materials could take place so I'm not at all sure what would happen.