"Brief radiation spike" after rocket engine explodes in Russia.

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Brief spike?

They fumbled a nuke and that's the best explanation they have?

 

You think it’s for electricity generation? I think that would require a motor in reactors turbine that need to be bigger than the turbofan engine in the missile (due to losses to metal resistance and feed for circuit boards). Shielding and water would probably add quite a bit of weight.

 

Could also be a nuclear powered ramjet. That wouldn't require moving parts, just a heat source. We had a working version in the 60's, but it was dropped for political and environmental reasons.

 

That’s what makes no sense to me - Pootin claimed his new nuclear missile will be able to go anywhere and be in the air for extended period of time. That would lead you to believe that the nuclear material would be used in reactor for electricity generation. Device that has nuclear reactor can run for a very long time - like nuclear subs, the missile or an airplane would be able to run without refueling for years. The downside to a nuclear reactor is that you need very heavy shielding. Also, nuclear material and water are not what anyone would consider a light material, making the final product very heavy and bulky. From this perspective, the only device that would make practical sense would be a very large bomber that stays in the air most of the time and no one needs to fuel it. In fact, that aircraft could have rotating crews and wouldn’t need to land for months.

The other scenario where nuclear fuel is used just for heat makes little sense too - it would still require a propellant that reacts with heat, which means the device will have a range limit. It’s also not practical because it the missile blows up over your own land it will contaminate large area. Flight itself is prone to contaminating everything around.

Whatever Russians are doing there, no matter how you look at it, it’s stupid.

 

It was also dropped at that time because it was an ill conceived idea that would spew radiation all over the planet. Russia just proved that this is a very dangerous develoment and that we still lack the technology to make this type of propulsion to make it safe.

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/201...lear-powered-missile-is-possible-and-awful/3/

 

I never said it was a good idea, only that it was technically feasible...

 

During the Korean War the North Koreans and Chinese tried to get military secrets out of American POWs. A small group of POWs made up a story that the US had a bomber thatvwas atomic powered and that it could fly for years and that the only reason it would land every few years is so that the crew could reinlist into the Air Force. You sentence about a nuclear craft only landing every few months reminded me of this story.

 

The Russian's don't have the best safety track with nuclear

 

If it was ramjet I think they would have a much bigger radiation spike.

 

I will just repeat here that most probably it was a failed test of the newest 'Burevestnik' missile which has a nuclear engine. It explains radiation, secrecy, fire on the ship etc. Something wrong went on the start of the rocket and nuclear engine of the rocket was destroyed killing engineers around of it and setting fire on the ship (warhead obviously was not destroyed, because this rocket has much more powerful devastating effect.

The news is sad. But in the place of western people I would think why russians have to take such a risk for inventing new kinds of rockets for nuclear end of the world. Perhaps there is something from the side of western governments which makes Kremlin to feel danger for the survival.

 

I did not think you said that it was a good idea. We very well. Ah in the future develope a way to use nuclear energy at least indirectly for terrestrial and for out space flight. I say indirectly obviously because air or other gasses are not available in space.

 

there new long range one does and Trump removed all restrictions on Russia, to now they can do whatever they want

 

Curious. Link? Verification?

 

Like they weren’t before? Putin strikes you as a trustworthy idealist fighting for the liberty and prosperity of his nation’s citizens? Gee, and here I thought he was a Stalin-Lite authoritarian autocrat robbing the nation blind and murdering his enemies. What gives?

 

This is my thought also. But imagine if they were able to do with a nuclear reactor what a transistor did for vacuum tubes, let alone the microchip.

If they have succeeded at miniaturizing a nuclear reactor that can be used to generate 25,000 lbs of thurst, we have taken one giant leap forward and entered a new age.

 

Trump doesn't honor Americas word, much like Putin I suppose

 

Twins with the same souls, little men consumed by power, like the Austrian "Ne'er-do-well“ buried and burned in a bunker underneath a bombed out Berlin. (Now there’s a success story of genius...not...not...not...a million billion times not. Nope. Just a boil on the ass of Man that needed lancing, and that he got. No worries. Everyone gets what they deserve, eventually.