General > General Technical Chat
RBMK nuclear reactor simulator down load
Kleinstein:
The reactor is only one part in the process of producing plutonium. Essentially all reactors that use uranium generate some plutonium, but the difficult part is separating it from the rest. To get weapons grade plutonium one needs the fuel to be in the reactor only for a relatively short time, so that less of heavier plutonium isotopes are generated. The RMBK allows for a relatively easy removal of the fuel and thus can make is practical to use is for plutonium production. Also for non weapons grade material a low burn down rate, as typical for lower enrichment is beneficial. However other reactors can be used for that purpose as well, it is just less economical and more unusual to remove the fuel early.
Just the simulation of the basic physics / control has nothing secret, it is more like a way to educate about nuclear energy and complex control systems. Real reactor operation should be quite different in that one has less control an hopefully more security measures in place. For the fun of it, it would not be much different if the simulation would be about a virus or a fish tank.
daqq:
If you already have access to a reactor, nuclear fuel, the industry needed to separate plutonium, then I don't think the thing stopping you from making a nuke or something nasty is the lack of a freely downloadable app simulating the rough operation of the most famous and publicly documented reactor in the world.
I mean, I can't see a situation where a supervilain/rogue state/whatever acquires all of that and in the end curses his luck on the download being removed.
CJay:
--- Quote from: S. Petrukhin on November 24, 2020, 01:14:05 am ---
--- Quote from: Cerebus on November 24, 2020, 12:49:06 am ---
The RMBK reactors are graphite moderated and, notably, use natural (not enriched) Uranium as fuel. The RMBK design was based on the earlier military reactors that were operated explicity to produce plutonium. The Hanford B reactor used to produce the plutonium for the American Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Japan was graphite moderated and fueled with unenriched uranium. So I think we can safely conclude that the RMBK reactors are 'dual use' designs, even if they were only ostensibly operated for power production.
--- End quote ---
Getting weapons-grade plutonium is much more difficult than getting it from a nuclear power plant reactor. :)
There are special companies for this purpose. Whether they use spent fuel from nuclear power plants or not, I do not know. But I know that fuel assemblies are stored for 3 years next to the reactor in the cooling pool after work.
--- End quote ---
How touchingly naive.
Of course spent nuclear fuel from power plants is used, why would you *not* use it if it contains by products that can be refined and used?
Whywould you waste that valuable fissile material?
S. Petrukhin:
--- Quote from: CJay on November 24, 2020, 12:27:22 pm ---
--- Quote from: S. Petrukhin on November 24, 2020, 01:14:05 am ---
--- Quote from: Cerebus on November 24, 2020, 12:49:06 am ---
The RMBK reactors are graphite moderated and, notably, use natural (not enriched) Uranium as fuel. The RMBK design was based on the earlier military reactors that were operated explicity to produce plutonium. The Hanford B reactor used to produce the plutonium for the American Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Japan was graphite moderated and fueled with unenriched uranium. So I think we can safely conclude that the RMBK reactors are 'dual use' designs, even if they were only ostensibly operated for power production.
--- End quote ---
Getting weapons-grade plutonium is much more difficult than getting it from a nuclear power plant reactor. :)
There are special companies for this purpose. Whether they use spent fuel from nuclear power plants or not, I do not know. But I know that fuel assemblies are stored for 3 years next to the reactor in the cooling pool after work.
--- End quote ---
How touchingly naive.
Of course spent nuclear fuel from power plants is used, why would you *not* use it if it contains by products that can be refined and used?
Whywould you waste that valuable fissile material?
--- End quote ---
Due to the fact that the fuel assemblies are in the reactor for a long time, they contain a lot of isotopes, and to get plutonium, as I know from school education, you need to conduct a fairly subtle and short-term reaction.
And I'm surprised: do you really all think that in Russia 38 civilian nuclear reactors are only engaged in producing weapons-grade plutonium?
wraper:
--- Quote from: S. Petrukhin on November 24, 2020, 01:14:05 am ---
--- Quote from: Cerebus on November 24, 2020, 12:49:06 am ---
The RMBK reactors are graphite moderated and, notably, use natural (not enriched) Uranium as fuel. The RMBK design was based on the earlier military reactors that were operated explicity to produce plutonium. The Hanford B reactor used to produce the plutonium for the American Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Japan was graphite moderated and fueled with unenriched uranium. So I think we can safely conclude that the RMBK reactors are 'dual use' designs, even if they were only ostensibly operated for power production.
--- End quote ---
Getting weapons-grade plutonium is much more difficult than getting it from a nuclear power plant reactor. :)
There are special companies for this purpose. Whether they use spent fuel from nuclear power plants or not, I do not know. But I know that fuel assemblies are stored for 3 years next to the reactor in the cooling pool after work.
--- End quote ---
Nuclear reactors is the only place where you get it from. There is no plutonium in nature other than trace amounts. According to Russian wiki, initially RBMK was meant to be dual use (capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium), however during it's design it was changed to single use. It still produces Pu-239 which is used in weapons, however, most of it is turned into higher number Pu isotopes. As I understand, to get Pu-239, you need to extract a relatively fresh nuclear fuel from the reactor.
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