The 1960s Tech Keeping NASA’s Voyager Probes Alive for Nearly 50 Years
Solar panels are next to useless in the outer solar system, so NASA’s Voyager probes rely on nuclear batteries—technology ...
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists7d
Red light for the greenway
A wildlife corridor plans to connect two Superfund sites at the former Rocky Flats plutonium plant and the Rocky Mountain ...
Radioisotope generators—inside the 'nuclear batteries' that power faraway spacecraft
Powering spacecraft with solar energy may not seem like a challenge, given how intense the sun's light can feel on Earth.
International Atomic Energy Agency10d
What are Molten Salt Reactors?
Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) are nuclear fission reactors in which either the fuel and/or the coolant is a molten salt. Molten salt is salt which liquifies at elevated temperatures and can store ...
The Conversation7d
Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft
Benjamin Roulston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations ...
Astronomy4d
Inside radioisotope generators, the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft
Credit: NASA Most RTGs are built using plutonium-238 as their source of energy, which is not usable for nuclear power plants since it does not sustain fission reactions. Instead, plutonium-238 is ...
Interesting Engineering on MSN2d
Russia tests next-gen nuclear fuel to boost 600 MWe reactor’s efficiency, cut waste
Nuclear fission reactors struggle with two key problems: poor fuel utilization and complicated radioactive waste handling. To ...
Live Science on MSN7d
Why is it still so hard to make nuclear weapons?
Scientists have been building nuclear weapons for more than 80 years, but crafting this technology remains a challenge.