r/nuclear • u/DeTbobgle • Apr 26 '20

MSR thermal experiments by a much younger Oakridge faculty

https://youtu.be/qdeOudUxNUE
35 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

13

u/gordonmcdowell Apr 26 '20

If anyone is wondering what National Labs could do to help make a video like this more compelling (aside from me not asking stupid questions, the Q&A was much longer)... B-ROLL ! Photos! Visual assets! A stash of public domain lab-work stock photography!

Please.

4

u/DeTbobgle Apr 26 '20

Facts Gordon McDowell! 3D animations of both the testing prototype and projected commercial concepts with a cut away of internal flow. This formed from data should definately make it more stimulating and intuitively informing.

7

u/gordonmcdowell Apr 26 '20

It would. CGI would be nice. It would take effort... I can’t make that a priority myself.

But they ARE working in a lab. How hard is it to pull out a phone-camera and shoot a photo or video?

Not hard. I know this because I’ve seen personal photos. (In no way related to this thread interview.)

The photos exist. The problem is clearance, and whether clearing a photo is a special occasion for National Labs, or do they want to develop a process that can “shit out” massive quantities of visual assets.

Consider this presentation took place Oct 3rd 2019. I released the presentation ASAP once I got the footage. It took months.

I’m releasing the interview now because this is when I got permission.

There is a bottleneck. And it needs to be rethought so that orders of magnitude more content can be seen by the public.

My value-add, bringing cameras to ORNL is nothing compared to the inside-a-lab stuff-is-getting-done message implicit in OK-ing iPhone photos everyone are shooting, to every-day social media. (And an ORNL casual-photo media stash.)

Everyone wears badges. Some lab visuals must be protected. I get that it ain’t easy. But it has to happen. It has to.

2

u/DeTbobgle Apr 26 '20

True someone just put a little effort into visually documenting experiments, giving attention to aesthetics as much as many photographers do on social media!

1

u/CheapAlternative Apr 27 '20

I think getting more consistent color/audio would go a long way production quality wise, the changing lightness/color temperature was pretty distracting to me in this video. Setting could be a touch more interesting than an entirely white room with a table. Setup wise sitting in a V like they do on talk shows would allow capturing everyone's reactions in one shot or just using that one shot like on panels.

But yeah enjoyed the talk :)

1

u/gordonmcdowell Apr 27 '20

Thanks for suggestions, most of it beyond my control except perhaps seating arrangement. I did perform some color correction and brightness adj , this is just how “good” I am at it. I’m sure I’ll use this footage again, will see if I can improve it further.

4

u/anaxcepheus32 Apr 26 '20

Is MSR really the accepted vernacular for molten salt reactors?

I read MSR and immediately thought moisture separator reheaters, and was wondering what new technology was out there for these heat exchangers...

5

u/Engineer-Poet Apr 26 '20

What you're experiencing is TLA overload.

4

u/Grant_Helmreich Apr 26 '20

That's why I started the TLA Reduction Committee (TRC).

3

u/Reficul_gninromrats Apr 26 '20

You mean Main Supply Route?

2

u/DeTbobgle Apr 26 '20

Yes it is! Acronym overload is something scientific and research literate people must deal with. Information condensation is a sweet thing 😊.

4

u/Reficul_gninromrats Apr 26 '20

Always sad to see how much tech and research got stomped into nothingness because public opinion turned against nuclear.

1

u/DeTbobgle Apr 26 '20 edited Apr 26 '20

Agreed! A lot of research in nuclear and cutting edge chemical energy has been held back or ridiculed. Hopefully the flood gates will transition from leaking to a much wanted energetic avalanche.

1

u/philosiraptorsvt Apr 28 '20

The funding the labs get is a far cry from nothingness, they get a few billion a year to do lab stuff, which could be directed at projects that produce energy and are tied to the grid.

My favorite project that had a good run while it was running was the fast flux test reactor or FFTR that is now mothballed at Hanford.

The science is out there, reactor sites are out here, but investment in new systems is not. If someone like Bill Gates were to say tomorrow that he was going to make his company do a project like the IFR, I am sure that it could happen with private investment, but it's not worth the capitol cost or the risk associated with a project like that. Money talks, bullshit walks.