Thorium Artwork from Suzanne Hobbs

Just had a silly thought... Fused silica has a pretty high softening point (around 1600C if you can get really pure stuff) and a relatively low nuclear cross section (being made of silicon and oxygen only). Wouldn't it be wild to use it for the core manifold, reactor containment, and coolant jacket? Not only would any Cherenkov radiation be beautifully visible, but you'd be able to visually inspect the reactor during operation. Obviously, the reactor's thorium blanket would have to be thick enough to capture all of the neutrons for visual inspection to be safe, and then you'd still have to be several feet away to get away from the heat ^_^.

Oh that's hot! I'd definitely be all for making a reactor a canvas and a power-plant beautiful. Of course, there are all kinds of different styles and ways if doing it. I really like the industrial art deco designs from the 1930's that expressed the lofty ideal of power as a means of serving man. They had all kinds of symbolism like hands clutching lightning bolts and such... Today some might see that as being ominous or too grandiose, but I always liked it. I think it would be terrific if instead of just making the reactor a blank canvas, there were a way to make it both functional and aesthetically pleasing by combining function and presentation - like make the condenser discharge come out as a waterfall or have the clouds of vapor from cooling towers come out like a fountain. Actually, one thing I've always wanted to see built onto a power plant is a big steam organ, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK7Q5rt9_zA&feature=related

On the T-shirt note, Have you ever considered starting a cafe-press store with LFTR shirts and stuff Kirk?

I am curious to know how small a reactor could be. Has anyone experimented with ultra-small designs? What are the current limitations to building a portable unit? Thanks. Jim

Jim - do you mean any reactor or the LFTR reactor in particular? if you use highly enriched uranium and high effeciency moderators then they can be built very very small. The smallest power reactor I'm aware of proving the potential to operate for any period of time is SNAP-10A. The reactor and thermal radiators were about eight feet tall, but the reactor alone was only about the size of a large bucket. However, I have heard some suggestions that using a combination of americium and plutonium with a neutron reflector, you could possibly have critical mass in something the size of a few aspirin tablets.