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301 points pseudolus | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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setgree ◴[] No.45030567[source]
> While it is still an emerging technology being used only on a modest scale as yet, it does have an advantage over some other renewable energies in that it is available around the clock.

I notice the 'some' here, and the absence of the word 'nuclear' from the article, which of course is also available around the clock. Most readers will know something about Japan's troubled relationship with nuclear power and can fill in that context themselves, but to my eyes, it's a startling omission.

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Arnavion ◴[] No.45030651[source]
Some other *renewable* energies. Nuclear isn't generally considered renewable.
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wafflemaker ◴[] No.45032325[source]
But it's inexhaustible. Sun will die at some point and moon will fall down to earth. Then we'll have no solar and no waves.
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immibis ◴[] No.45032552[source]
Nuclear is quite exhaustible. If we use it to power everything, we have about 100 years worth. It's just another kind of fossil fuel, storing energy that was captured long ago.
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jrflowers ◴[] No.45033877{4}[source]
I love that you can post whatever you want on the internet. “Nuclear is quite exhaustible”, “The earth is flat”, “Ernest Borgnine killed JFK” you can just put words together and put them online. Such a thrill
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immibis ◴[] No.45034047{5}[source]
Do you believe that underground elves are continuously manufacturing more uranium, or what do you believe is the case?
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1. jjk166 ◴[] No.45056810{6}[source]
There are ~65 Trillion tons of uranium in Earth's crust. This dissolves into sea water to maintain an equilibrium concentration.

It takes 18.6 tons of natural uranium to produce 1 TWh of electricity with light water reactors.

The world consumes ~30,000 TWh each year.

65 Trillion / (18.6 * 30,000) = 1x10^8 years worth of uranium with present day technology, no elves required.