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Podcast: Engineering Matters
Episode: #234 Microreactors: From the Moon, to the ends of the Earth
Description: For more than a century, the UK’s Rolls-Royce have designed power systems for cars and planes, ships and submarines. Today, they are developing a novel form of nuclear reactor, which will bring reliable power to the Moon, and green energy to some of the world’s furthest frontiers.
The microreactors they are developing are tiny: terrestrial versions will be the size of a shipping container, and the first, lunar, models aim to be the size of a small car. They require no external cooling, and use a novel fuel form—encapsulated pellets—to ensure safety.
One da...