So everyone knows already that nuclear reactors boil water to spin turbines and generate electricity.How efficient is this process? Do we just boil water because it's the best thing we can reasonably do or do we boil water because it's actually the best thing we can do?Is there no way to somehow harness power directly from nuclear fuel or is boiling water just already so good that there's no point in trying anything else?
>>16994986Please tell me you aren't an actual adult.
>>16994986Figure out a better way to spin a turbine, likely there isn't one.
>>16994986Water is pretty much a miracle substance that we just happen to have an abundance of on this planet
>>16994988I'm 30, if I knew anything about this topic I wouldn't be asking about it.
>>16995018Your mind seems to function like a 10 year old so sorry I do not believe you. You are just old enough that you can question memes that are presented to you but have 0 ability to process information beyond that. Any 18 year old could answer your question with at least 4 different methods. Or are you just disabled, in which case I'm sorry.
>>16995029This is why nothing is enjoyable anymore, retards like op permeate everything
Boiling water in metal radiators is far better and faster than using coils and blowing hot air around the house. Scale up and it kinda makes sense that boiling water is pretty efficient. A big massive fire could also be great, as everything in the universe burns, but we couldn't make a fire big enough or harness the energy so for not we be boiling water a lot.
>>16994986Theres new plants that boil liquid CO2, allegedly they can approach more closely the carnot limit, operating at the same temperature.
>>16995029Holy shit bazinga level retarded redditor nerd lmao
>>16994988>>16995029Baiter voltaics
>>16995018Better ways to induce an electrical flow in a metallic object... solar power uses the energy from the sun to induce an electrical flow, tidal forces can be used (a change in gravity, the change in temperature of our environment could also be used. It's all about utilising a potential difference in 2 states desu
>>16995029>Any 18 year old could answer your questionThey could give you A answer, not all of the available options, they only know what they've been taught, but that isnt nessecarilly all their is to know.
>>16994986When you read, Op, do you move your eyes while keeping your head still?Or do you keep your eyes still and move your head?
>>16994986The thermal-to-electric energy conversion rate is about 1/3 in a normal pressurized water reactor.> do we boil water because it's actually the best thing we can doIn a pressurized water reactor, it pretty much is. Even in a power plant in which it might be theoretically optimal to use a working fluid other than water, there is usually some drawback that makes it not worthwhile, such as corrosion.>Is there no way to somehow harness power directly from nuclear fuelYou can, for example, use a thermoelectric generator which exploits the Seebeck effect. It is very inefficient. Still, it is done in radioisotope thermal generators on spacecraft, for the sake of simplicity and reliability.
>>16995104rds
>>16994986Like most people of /sci/ the posters ITT are more interested in having an asshole licking contest then...ya know...talking about science. And yes, you talk like a fag, and your shit is indeed all retarded. However I will endeavor to answer your juvenile question you probably should have asked AI about. So we have several main ways to generate electricity:electromagnetic induction (based on Faraday's Law). It converts mechanical kinetic energy into electrical energy by rotating a conductor through a magnetic field.This is your classic generator, your wind turbine, your car alternator, your cheap gas generator from Bass Pro, and large hydro electric dams and yes nuclear power plants. We need ENERGY to SPIN our copper coils near magnets, we get electricity. We have many many ways to spin the copper coils but as you stated, H2O water steam is the main vector to push energy into the copper coil system to make the power. A gas engine, a wind turbine blade, or a guy on a bike turning the wheels, just energy dumped into turning the copper coils. Nuclear and oil convert pure energy to pure power via this process at roughly 30% efficiency. Hydro electric power fueled via gravity is close to 90% efficient. The Photovoltaic Effect:Photons of light hit semiconductor materials (like silicon) in a solar cell, knocking electrons free from their atomic bonds. An internal electric field forces these loose electrons to flow in one direction, creating a direct electrical current (DC). 15-24% efficient. Electrochemistry (Batteries & Fuel Cells)Spontaneous chemical reactions (redox reactions) cause electrons to transfer from one substance to another. Instead of flowing directly between the chemicals, the electrons are forced to travel through an external circuit as electricity. 60-80% efficient.1/2
>>16995263Thermoelectric / Radioisotope Generation(WHAT YOU PROPOSE!)Converts heat directly into electricity using the Seebeck effect. When there is a temperature difference between two different conductors or semiconductors, a voltage is generated, pushing electrons to flow. 5-10% effecient...the lowest on the list. This is it, that's all. These are the only 4 ways to make electricity. By a large margin electromagnetic induction is the most effecient and most practical to use at industrial scale to power modern cities. You can't build a chemical battery large enough to power a city and the chemicals needed to do so would likely be enough to blow the city up as well, no good. So you see our only real choice for power on a humanity scale is to spin the copper around near the magnets. That's it, end of story. Spin the copper.Now HOW DO WE SPIN THE COPPER! That's the rub dear retard. The main limiting factor is the cost of your input fuel to spin the copper, especially over several decades like 30-100 years. Nuclear fuel is very stable supply wise as a power plant can have and store fuel for the next 30 years on hand but a hybrid natural gas power plant can not. A hybrid natural gas power plant is also TWICE as efficient as a nuclear plant, but the fuel needs to be constantly drilled, bottled, and trucked to the power plant. So despite wasting 70% of it's energy via inefficiency nuclear power is highly desired for it's other properties and we can't all be Canada with endless waterfalls to turn into hyper efficient free power. Until you invent a better way to make electricity than copper coils near magnets, this is the only game in town. It's just physics pal. There are inefficiencies, hard limits by physics in this system and all systems. Like the speed of light or the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. To overcome these limits you will have to become a groundbreaking physics autist. Good luck. Homework reading:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot_heat_engine2/2
>>16995029based, op retarded and btfo
The answer to your question, OP, is that we have spent centuries perfecting the steam turbine. It’s reliable, easier than reinventing the wheel, and relatively cheap to take a new source of heat and “plug it in” to the steam turbine than it is to engineer a new form of electricity generation.
>>16994986OP this is actually a good question, don't let the retard spergs deter youAll of this generally comes down to converting heat into electricityThere are some thermal pastes and stuff that do it a bit, but water boiling to spin a turbine is the standardIf anyone discovered a newer more efficient method then it would be pretty nice, converting photons into electric current is getting bigger too aka solarLook into motors and the Tesla / Edison disputes if you are interested in early brushless motor technology and to understand how heat converts to mechanical energy which spins magnets to create a current and generates electricityMost people have no idea how any of this works so it's good that your curiosity is leading you to higher understanding
>>16995270And the matrix was based on the last one. How about trying to maximize the velocity of the photovoltaic effect?Battery storage is changing to sodium for long-term storage like cars and houses and keeping with lithium for higher-density devices like phones and laptops.
>>16994986>way to somehow harness power directly from nuclear fueljust weld the turbine fins to the nuclear fule pellets, profit.
How old were you when you realized nuclear power is steampunk?
>>16994986>not one poster thus far mentioned this or even MHDgrimhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaseous_fission_reactor
>>16994986electricity is basically potential energy, electrons need to be moved, spinning the turbine is the way to transfer that energy to electrons. Even if we had fusion reactors same principle would apply.
