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Old 12-24-2017, 03:59 AM   #31
David L Pulver
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

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Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
The calculation at the time was ten extra deaths per vehicle launch (compared with a thousand overall from the general atmospheric testing that was going on). Using better models, it's probably more like a hundred per launch.
Yeah, not really justifiable if you have no pressing reason for lifting big payloads into space.

If you actually _do_ have an existential reason to do it, like "we'll grab cheap (important resource like energy) in space" well, compare to the estimated deaths a year from burning coal, some societies might go for it.
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Old 12-24-2017, 06:15 PM   #32
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

With how many die from all modern energy technologies, I think every society with economic reasons lacking nuclear paranoia would go for it.
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Old 12-24-2017, 06:29 PM   #33
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

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And getting prophylactic thyroidectomies at age 14... :)

I mean, really, detonating nuclear weapons in the atmosphere? Unless you boost to orbit first- like those schemes that used a couple of dozen SRBs- building a space industry around Orion is insane. Cool as hell, but insane.
It's not quite that bad, but it is true that this is the big barrier standing in the way of large-scale space activities. Chemical energy isn't power-dense enough, nuclear energy has plenty enough power density, but we don't really have a fully safe and reliably way to use it.
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Old 12-24-2017, 09:11 PM   #34
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

Modern reactors are quite safe if properly maintained and managed. Certainly compared to the damage caused by mine runoff, oil spills, toxic emissions, etc. from fossil fuels.
Sadly, nothing is truly safe or "green".
It usually boils down to what risks are less frightening to a specific people rather than numbers of deaths and objective danger. Political, but everything is political and cultural in some way or other.
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Old 12-25-2017, 05:54 AM   #35
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

The problem was the mismanagement of the Fukushima Disaster. Since the Japanese government was unwilling to acknowledge that the power plant was impossible to salvage, they did not use the proper methods to control the meltdown, leading to the 6+ year long nuclear disaster. If the Japanese, who have the reputation for technological prowess, were incapable of safely dealing with nuclewr, how could the world trust anyone with nuclear? When that is added to the fact that nuclear power plants have capital costs that are easily $10 per W of electricity production, nuclear power does not make economic sense.
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Old 12-25-2017, 06:19 AM   #36
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

Exxon Valdez. Disasters will happen, and deaths will result, only the specifics change.
But this is getting way too real world politics for this thread.
Truce to disagree?
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Old 12-25-2017, 08:46 AM   #37
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Default Re: [Spaceships] Mass-driver realism

If only there were a book with a lot of research behind it, including interviews with people in the industry, that went into this in some more detail. If it had some GURPS stats, that would be even better.

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/...wn-and-fallout
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