The temperature limitation of fission nuclear plant is due to temperature of vaporization of water. The reactor must always be filled with liquid water. At the pressure inside a fission reactor, the limiting temperature is just a little above 300°C. The water is slowing the neutron. Without water, a reactor has a meltdown.
_____ From: Jed Rothwell [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: mardi 21 mai 2013 21:15 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Vo]:E-Cat general observations Alan Fletcher <[email protected]> wrote: That was the motivation behind the hot-cat : the current operating temperature of around 300C is likely a good fit with the Siemens turbine they are purportedly experimenting with. The pressurized water in a conventional fission reactor is about 320°C I believe. The reactors could be designed to run at higher temperatures but they deliberately made them low with poor Carnot efficiency because this reduces wear and tear on the turbines, pipes and so on. In a system where the heat costs you little or nothing, it makes sense to trade off Carnot efficiency for lower equipment costs. - Jed
