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maxwords
The fundamental basis of why the world is railroaded using carbon is countries vested interests in making money from their reserves. Plenty of countries have more coal than Saudi Arabia has oil. So the want to exploit these reserves because it means money. Other countries have large reserves of natural gas that they can mine and sell. Whatever the material if a country has it then it's money in the bank and will be used.

The Boeing 747-400 Airline uses around 10 tonnes of Avgas per hour. Airlines could be re-designed to use Uranium fuel rods withing a reactor on an airline. The heat from the nuclear reaction would be absorbed directly into molten lead and transferred to water(sea-water) that would be pumped to the reactor to produce super-heated steam. Essentially the Airline would have sea-water contained in the fuel-tank contained within its wings. The super-heated steam would be pumped to the turbine jets in-place of Avgas. The steam would interact with the air from the turbine jet intake causing thermal expansion of the air in the turbine compressor and producing thrust. Airlines could be build much larger carrying enough seawater to fly 25,000 miles around the world without refueling with water. Potentially the could fly faster than conventional Airlines (1,200mph) and be able to keep up with the spin of the Earth providing daylight throughout the flight when flying East to West.
Gehn
I think a nuclear powered bomber, the Convair NB - 36, was made by the US as a test to see if the idea could work. It worked fine, but the problem was the fear of a crash. If a nuclear powered aircraft had an accident, the result would be deadly (Hence the bomber being scrapped). Radiation would be spread over a massive area, and aircraft accidents even now occur too often for something like that to be safe. So, the idea itself is sound, but the danger is too high.

- Gehn biggrin.gif
"THEY"
QUOTE (maxwords+May 29 2008, 09:56 AM)
Airlines could be re-designed to use Uranium fuel rods withing a reactor on an airline.

My dad died a very slow death, at a relatively young age, from prostrate cancer. He worked in the uranium mines when he was young. Is that something you would wish on your children or grand children? Research uranium mining, and see if that is something you really would wish upon humans to increase mining to meet the demand.
excaza
QUOTE ("THEY"+May 29 2008, 12:32 PM)
My dad died a very slow death, at a relatively young age, from prostrate cancer. He worked in the uranium mines when he was young. Is that something you would wish on your children or grand children? Research uranium mining, and see if that is something you really would wish upon humans to increase mining to meet the demand.

That's why people work in improving technology, genius.

You know, like robots and shielded suits?
TheDoc
QUOTE ("THEY"+May 29 2008, 05:32 PM)
My dad died a very slow death, at a relatively young age, from prostrate cancer.  He worked in the uranium mines when he was young.  Is that something you would wish on your children or grand children?  Research uranium mining, and see if that is something you really would wish upon humans to increase mining to meet the demand.


Ahem...


QUOTE (From the link above+)
No human cancer has been seen as a result of exposure to natural or depleted uranium...


N O M
The uranium itself isn't too dangerous. But the ores can contain radium, which does cause cancer. So mining may be a hazardous occupation. This would be solved by using robots or criminals to do the mining.
Capracus
QUOTE (TheDoc+May 29 2008, 06:34 PM)

Ahem...


QUOTE (From the link above+)
No human cancer has been seen as a result of exposure to natural or depleted uranium...
You left off the rest of the sentence from the link.
QUOTE
but exposure to some of its decay products, especially radon, does pose a significant health threat.[9]
And more on radon and mining.
QUOTE (->
QUOTE
but exposure to some of its decay products, especially radon, does pose a significant health threat.[9]
And more on radon and mining.
The first major studies of the health concern occurred in the context of uranium mining, first in the Joachimsthal region of Bohemia and then in the Southwestern United States during the early Cold War. Because radon is a product of uranium, uranium mines may have high concentrations of radon and its highly radioactive daughter products. Many uranium miners in the Four Corners region contracted lung cancer and other pathologies as a result of high levels of exposure to radon in the mid-1950s. The increased incidence of lung cancer was particularly pronounced among Native American and Mormon miners, because those groups normally have low rates of lung cancer. Safety standards requiring expensive ventilation were not widely implemented or policed during that period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon


excaza
QUOTE (N O M+May 29 2008, 07:00 PM)
This would be solved by using robots or criminals to do the mining.

laugh.gif
TheDoc
QUOTE (Capracus+)
You left off the rest of the sentence from the link.


You left off a lot more than half a sentence from the page you linked to.

QUOTE (Wikipedia article on Radon+)
Radiation exposure from radon is indirect. Radon has a short half-life (4 days) and decays into other solid particulate radium-series radioactive nuclides. These radioactive particles are inhaled and remain lodged in the lungs, causing continued exposure. People in affected localities can receive up to 10 mSv per year background radiation. Radon is thus the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and accounts for 15,000 to 22,000 cancer deaths per year in the US alone. The general population is exposed to small amounts of polonium as a radon daughter in indoor air; the isotopes 214Po and 218Po are thought to cause the majority of the estimated 15,000-22,000 lung cancer deaths in the US every year that have been attributed to indoor radon.

The general effects of radon to the human body are caused by its radioactivity and consequent risk of radiation-induced cancer. As an inert gas, radon has a low solubility in body fluids which leads to a uniform distribution of the gas throughout the body. Radon gas and its solid decay products are carcinogens. The greatest health risks come from exposure to the inhaled solid radon gas decay products that are produced during the radioactive decay of radon gas. Two of these decay products, polonium-218 and 214, present a significant radiologic hazard. Once the radioactive decay products are inhaled into the lung, they undergo further radioactive decay, releasing small bursts of energy in the form of alpha particles that can either cause DNA breaks or create free radicals.

It is not known whether radon can cause health effects in other organs besides the lungs. The effects of radon, which is found in food or drinking water, are unknown.


Wikipedia subarticle on the effects of Radon

Now radon causes lung cancer. Ok, got that down. But here is "THEY"s statement:

QUOTE ("THEY"+)
My dad died a very slow death, at a relatively young age, from prostrate cancer.


Note that she specifically says prostrate cancer, not lung cancer. There's a difference. So while radon poses a serious threat to your health, there's nothing to prove that it causes prostrate cancer. Understand?
Capracus
QUOTE (TheDoc+May 31 2008, 02:59 AM)


Now radon causes lung cancer. Ok, got that down. But here is "THEY"s statement:
QUOTE
My dad died a very slow death, at a relatively young age, from prostrate cancer. He worked in the uranium mines when he was young. Is that something you would wish on your children or grand children? Research uranium mining, and see if that is something you really would wish upon humans to increase mining to meet the demand.


Note that she specifically says prostrate cancer, not lung cancer. There's a difference. So while radon poses a serious threat to your health, there's nothing to prove that it causes prostrate cancer. Understand?
Whether or not They's Dad's prostate cancer was a result of radon or uranium exposure remains uncertain. There is research that suggests a link between cancer and the radiogenic and chemical properties of natural and depleted uranium.

The main point of They's statement was that there was, and still is health risks associated with uranium mining. Your selective Wiki quote was misleading in regards to the known cancer risk associated with uranium mining. Quoting the full sentence demonstrates the true danger of the occupation.

Prostrate cancer is a cancer of individuals who lay face down.

Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate gland.

My Dad used to make the same mistake with prostate/prostrate.


TheDoc
QUOTE (Capracus+)
Whether or not They's Dad's prostate cancer was a result of radon or uranium exposure remains uncertain. There is research that suggests a link between cancer and the radiogenic and chemical properties of natural and depleted uranium.


Link?

QUOTE
The main point of They's statement was that there was, and still is health risks associated with uranium mining.


I was questioning whether "THEY"s dad's cancer was a result of uranium mining, not how dangerous uranium mining is.

QUOTE (->
QUOTE
The main point of They's statement was that there was, and still is health risks associated with uranium mining.


I was questioning whether "THEY"s dad's cancer was a result of uranium mining, not how dangerous uranium mining is.

Your selective Wiki quote was misleading in regards to the known cancer risk associated with uranium mining.


Your selective Wiki quote was misleading in regards to what type of cancer radon can cause.

QUOTE
Quoting the full sentence demonstrates the true danger of the occupation.


Again, I wasn't arguing that uranium mining wasn't dangerous. I was questioning "THEY"s statement.
Capracus
QUOTE (TheDoc+Jun 1 2008, 04:13 AM)
QUOTE (Capracus+)
Whether or not They's Dad's prostate cancer was a result of radon or uranium exposure remains uncertain. There is research that suggests a link between cancer and the radiogenic and chemical properties of natural and depleted uranium.


Link?
http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/04/21/68146

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender...15&blobtype=pdf

http://www.nirs.org/les/lesdureportredactedfeb2005.pdf

QUOTE
Your selective Wiki quote was misleading in regards to what type of cancer radon can cause.
It definitely causes lung cancer, and it may possibly cause others. How many different types of cancer are necessary to pose a health risk?

QUOTE (->
QUOTE
Your selective Wiki quote was misleading in regards to what type of cancer radon can cause.
It definitely causes lung cancer, and it may possibly cause others. How many different types of cancer are necessary to pose a health risk?

Again, I wasn't arguing that uranium mining wasn't dangerous. I was questioning "THEY"s statement.
That was part of They's statement, IMO it was the most significant part of the statement.
TheDoc
QUOTE (Capracus+)
It definitely causes lung cancer, and it may possibly cause others. How many different types of cancer are necessary to pose a health risk?


You're taking my statement out of context. I never said that so-and-so number of cancers are needed to pose a health risk.

QUOTE
That was part of They's statement, IMO it was the most significant part of the statement.


You're taking what I said out of context again. I was refering to "THEY"s statement that her dad's prostate cancer came from uranium mining. Remember?
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