Step into the world of mind-blowing inventions that will have you questioning reality! From a Boy Scout's nuclear endeavors to Kodak's secret basement reactor, this video dives into the outrageous and the futuristic. Ever imagined a nuclear-powered car or a mobile atomic power station? We've got those and more! Tune in to explore these jaw-dropping tales. Don't forget to subscribe for more fascinating stories and let us know your favorite part in the comments! #Inventions #Nuclear #Science #History #Technology
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with @kramola_online
00:00:00 - Introduction to Outrageous Nuclear Inventions
00:00:31 - Richard Hendle's Radioactive Experiment
00:01:09 - Kodak's Hidden Nuclear Reactor
00:02:36 - Portable and Mobile Nuclear Reactors
00:04:19 - Atomic Cars: A Futuristic Vision
00:06:15 - 21st Century Atomic Car Concepts
00:08:37 - Soviet Union's Mobile Nuclear Power Stations
00:10:41 - Modern and Future Nuclear Projects
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with @kramola_online
00:00:00 - Introduction to Outrageous Nuclear Inventions
00:00:31 - Richard Hendle's Radioactive Experiment
00:01:09 - Kodak's Hidden Nuclear Reactor
00:02:36 - Portable and Mobile Nuclear Reactors
00:04:19 - Atomic Cars: A Futuristic Vision
00:06:15 - 21st Century Atomic Car Concepts
00:08:37 - Soviet Union's Mobile Nuclear Power Stations
00:10:41 - Modern and Future Nuclear Projects
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TechTranscript
00:00In one of our previous episodes, we talked about the radioactive Boy Scout,
00:04who, at the age of 17, built a homemade nuclear breeder reactor
00:09in a shed next to his house on the outskirts of Detroit.
00:12But now you will see even more outrageous inventions.
00:16Who knows? Maybe one of our subscribers already has a portable nuclear reactor
00:20for generating energy in their basement.
00:23It seems like science fiction. Let's take a look.
00:26We'll start with some well-known cases and finish with the most amazing examples.
00:30Let's go.
00:31Richard Hendel collected radioactive parts for his home reactor,
00:35including old clock hands, smoke detectors, and even uranium and thorium.
00:40He wrote about all his experiments for about half a year on his blog.
00:44But the police only noticed him when he himself wrote a letter to the Radiation Safety Service
00:49to ask the authorities whether his experiment was legal.
00:52Hendel was arrested and found guilty of violating the Radiation Safety Law and the Environmental Law.
00:59After the trial, he was sentenced to a small fine of 1,500 euros and released.
01:05It would seem like just another story about an uneducated oddball.
01:09But what would you say about a world-famous company
01:11that hid a small reactor in its basement for 30 years?
01:15The well-known company Kodak, a manufacturer of photographic equipment,
01:20admitted that since 1974, it had owned a small nuclear reactor.
01:24Only a few people knew about the installation.
01:27The reactor was located in the basement of Kodak's headquarters in Rochester, New York.
01:32The company itself claims that for more than 30 years,
01:35the nuclear installation did not pose the slightest danger to those around it.
01:39Nevertheless, the reactor operated on almost 1.5 kilograms of uranium, enriched to 93%.
01:45That's already a level sufficient for use in an atomic bomb.
01:50A nuclear reactor the size of a regular refrigerator was located in a basement
01:55with concrete walls 60 centimeters thick and was operated remotely.
01:59Neither the city authorities nor the state authorities knew about its existence.
02:03The thing is, private companies aren't allowed to have such reactors
02:07or work with active radioactive material at all, right?
02:10However, it seemed that in the 70s,
02:13the United States government approved the release of such reactors for large companies.
02:17And two reactors were produced under this program.
02:21One of them was sent to the United States Department of Energy,
02:23and the other was actually bought by the Kodak company.
02:26It turns out that a truly home-sized nuclear reactor
02:29was already created quite a long time ago.
02:32And apparently, it operated steadily for all 30 years.
02:36But such stations can't really be called portable,
02:39though they can definitely be considered mobile.
02:42Miniature units the size of a standard shipping container
02:45can supply up to 10 megawatts for 10 years without refueling.
02:50The reactors are completely autonomous and safe,
02:53require no maintenance,
02:54and after their service life ends,
02:56they are simply recharged for another 10 years.
02:59The reactors can be used both for power generation and for heating.
03:04Such a station can power an entire village or a small town.
03:08The most similar in terms of operating principle
03:10are the most common reactors that were installed at Russian nuclear power plants.
03:14Uranium nitride is used as fuel, which has higher thermal conductivity.
03:20It's simple here.
03:21The higher the reactor temperature, the higher the steam temperature.
03:25And as a result, the higher the performance of the steam turbine that generates energy.
03:30The unit with fuel and cooling system has a mass of 20 tons
03:34and is designed for 10 years of operation, without refueling.
03:38The entire system can be transported by trucks.
03:41Upon arrival at the site,
03:42the barrel with the reactor is simply buried with access to it,
03:45and no maintenance is expected at all.
03:48After the warranty period expires,
03:50the barrel is dug up and sent back to the manufacturer for refueling.
03:54According to the designers,
03:56the features of the construction make these reactors safe.
03:59Overheating and explosion are impossible
04:01because the pressure does not increase as the temperature rises.
04:05The developers of the technology assure that this reactor
04:08will never reach a supercritical mode.
04:10And if someone intentionally damages the vessel,
04:12the active material will cool down quickly,
04:14and the reactor itself will turn into an iron block
04:17isolated by a thick layer of lead.
04:19Well, fine.
04:21Everyone knows about nuclear icebreakers and submarines.
04:24But what about putting a nuclear reactor into a car?
04:27In 1957, the company introduced a concept car
04:32that was the most famous atomic automobile.
04:36It became the first development of its kind,
04:38as well as one of only two such cars ever created,
04:42even as a mock-up,
04:43and shown at an auto show.
04:45The car was designed down to the last detail,
04:48taking into account the need for maintenance on public roads
04:51and the risk of radiation exposure to passengers.
04:54All that was left was to create the atomic engine itself.
04:58The nuclear unit,
04:59which took up two-thirds of the car's volume and weight,
05:02was a scaled-down copy of the standard reactor
05:04from an American nuclear submarine.
05:07However, it was very difficult to shrink
05:09a 35-ton, 6-meter-tall giant
05:12down to the size of a car.
05:14In the limited space,
05:15it was necessary to fit the reactor itself,
05:18a steam generator,
05:19and two turbines.
05:20One was supposed to drive the wheels,
05:23and the other to power the electric generator.
05:25In principle,
05:26the idea seemed workable.
05:28The main advantage was the incredible durability
05:30of the power unit.
05:32Of course,
05:32refueling old reactors with new rods was problematic,
05:36so the vehicle was only refueled
05:38by replacing the entire reactor.
05:40But one refueling was supposed to last
05:42for 30,000 kilometers.
05:44It was planned to refuel the used reactors
05:46in factory conditions.
05:48It's similar to how,
05:49today, for example,
05:50charging stations
05:51and gas cylinder exchange stations operate.
05:53But time went on,
05:55and the compact reactor still didn't appear.
05:57And the company itself
05:59didn't have enough capacity
06:00to develop its own nuclear engine.
06:02The leading American manufacturer
06:04of submarine reactors
06:05also wasn't in a hurry
06:07to change the design of their reactors.
06:09And the ambitious project
06:10was shut down
06:11without ever really getting started.
06:14But that's not all.
06:15Five years later,
06:16it got a continuation.
06:17In 1961,
06:19the United Nations adopted
06:20the famous declaration
06:21banning the use of nuclear
06:23and thermonuclear weapons.
06:25Accordingly,
06:26a huge number of laboratories
06:27working in this field
06:29had to suspend their research.
06:31Efforts urgently needed
06:32to be redirected
06:33toward peaceful purposes.
06:35The company's marketers
06:37noticed a certain signal in this
06:38and immediately sent tasks
06:40to the engineers
06:41to continue working on the topic.
06:43That's how 21 appeared.
06:46This time,
06:46the developers tried not
06:48to repeat the mistakes made
06:49during the construction
06:50of the previous model.
06:52In particular,
06:53they kept the traditional car layout.
06:55Engine,
06:56then cabin,
06:57then a normally sized trunk.
06:59Of course,
07:00the car turned out huge,
07:01but that was in the spirit
07:03of Americans in the 60s
07:04and did not violate
07:06the average person's idea
07:07of a good car.
07:08But since a compact atomic engine
07:10still didn't exist in 1962,
07:13they had to cram
07:14as many fantastic ideas
07:16as possible into the concept,
07:18which at that time
07:19were simply impossible.
07:21These ideas attracted
07:23a lot of attention
07:23to the company itself
07:25because the know-how
07:26that the engineers presented
07:27was half a century
07:29ahead of its time.
07:31For example,
07:32this concept car
07:33didn't have a steering wheel
07:34as such.
07:35It was suggested
07:36to control the car
07:37by touching a special panel
07:38with your fingers.
07:40This is the prototype
07:41of the modern touchscreen.
07:43There was also
07:44an onboard computer
07:45in the cabin,
07:46the interface of which
07:47somewhat resembled.
07:48And this was in the 60s
07:50when it didn't even exist yet,
07:52and Bill Gates
07:53was only seven years old
07:54at the time.
07:55The main purpose
07:57of the computer
07:57was to plot a route.
07:59This became the prototype
08:00of the Global Positioning System
08:02Navigator.
08:03Sensors installed
08:04throughout the body
08:05took into account
08:06the traffic situation,
08:08the proximity of other cars,
08:09and weather conditions.
08:11In fact,
08:12the engineers of that time
08:13predicted the appearance
08:14of parking sensors,
08:16rain sensors,
08:17and safety systems.
08:18The windows of the 21
08:20had an adjustable level
08:22of tint
08:22depending on the amount
08:23of light coming
08:24from outside.
08:25The car turned out
08:26to be really cool,
08:27and at several auto shows
08:29it caused quite a sensation.
08:31But the development
08:32of this car
08:33did not go beyond
08:34the concept
08:34due to technical barriers.
08:37Well, all right,
08:38that's in America,
08:39but what about here?
08:40In the Soviet Union,
08:41atomic cars
08:42were not developed,
08:43realizing that these
08:44were initially
08:45fantastic projects.
08:47But a mobile
08:47atomic power station,
08:49several all-terrain
08:50vehicles long,
08:51was not only designed,
08:52but even built
08:53and put into operation.
08:55This project
08:56was called
08:56TES-TRI,
08:58which stood
08:59for Transportable Power Station.
09:00The power unit itself
09:02was a compact
09:03dual-circuit reactor.
09:05Water was used
09:06as the working fluid,
09:07and the generator's turbine
09:09was driven by steam.
09:11The equipment
09:12was mounted
09:12on the chassis
09:13of a heavy T-10 tank
09:14and received
09:15the general name
09:16Energy Self-Propelled Vehicle.
09:18The power plant set
09:19consisted of four
09:20Energy Self-Propelled Vehicles.
09:22The first housed
09:23the reactor itself
09:24with shielding
09:25and an air radiator.
09:27The second contained
09:28a pair of generators
09:29and circulation pumps.
09:30The third
09:31had the turbo generator.
09:33The fourth
09:33had the control panel
09:34and backup equipment.
09:36Deploying the station
09:37took several hours.
09:38It couldn't operate
09:39while moving
09:40because all the
09:41Energy Self-Propelled Vehicles
09:42had to be connected
09:43with wires and pipelines.
09:45It was not difficult
09:46to provide shielding
09:47since the reactor
09:49that required isolation
09:50was located
09:51on a separate
09:51Energy Self-Propelled Vehicle.
09:53They simply placed it
09:54in a sealed lead container,
09:56and during operation,
09:57the operators did not approach
09:58this Self-Propelled Vehicle.
10:00The mobile nuclear power plant
10:01was ready for operation,
10:03and on October 13, 1961,
10:06the first experimental launch
10:07of the station took place.
10:09It performed quite well.
10:11The tests continued
10:12until 1965.
10:14But one problem arose.
10:16Neither industrialists
10:18nor scientists
10:18were able to find
10:19any practical use
10:20for this installation.
10:22It was originally designed
10:24to operate in the far north,
10:25but traditional
10:27liquid-fueled installations
10:28turned out to be
10:29simpler and cheaper.
10:32Economic impracticality
10:33forced the project
10:34to be shut down in 1969,
10:37so the unused
10:38TES-3
10:39was mothballed.
10:41At the same time,
10:42work was underway
10:42on a second mobile
10:43nuclear power plant,
10:44Pamir 630E
10:47heavy MAZ equipment
10:48was used as the chassis.
10:50In many ways,
10:51this plant was more successful
10:53than TES-3,
10:54but unfortunately,
10:56its first test launch
10:57took place in 1985,
10:59shortly before
10:59the Chernobyl disaster.
11:01Therefore,
11:02after the accident
11:03at the Chernobyl
11:04nuclear power plant,
11:05most of the work
11:06in the nuclear field
11:07was shut down.
11:08Well,
11:09as for modern developments,
11:10such as the floating
11:11nuclear power plant,
11:12Akademik Lomonosov,
11:14we'll talk about them
11:15some other time.
11:16Set up notifications
11:17so you don't miss it.
11:18Or,
11:19maybe it would be better
11:20to choose another topic.
11:22For example,
11:22to talk about
11:23the uranium deal,
11:24also known as
11:25the Vorno-Gor-Chernomyrdin deal
11:27of 1993,
11:28at that time,
11:29a huge amount,
11:30500 tons
11:31of enriched uranium,
11:33was sold
11:33to the United States.
11:35Instead of 8 to 12,
11:36according to various estimates,
11:38trillion dollars,
11:39only 20 billion
11:40was received.
11:42It's like selling
11:43a brand new Mercedes,
11:44which costs 5 million
11:46for just 12,500 rubles.
11:48This colonial,
11:50essentially,
11:50deal simply saved
11:52the United States
11:52energy sector,
11:53where 98 nuclear power plants
11:55generate 20%
11:57of the country's electricity.
11:58And to this day,
12:00Russia enriches
12:01natural uranium
12:01for America.
12:03That's exactly why
12:04Rosatom owns shares
12:05in foreign companies
12:06that mine
12:07natural uranium.
12:08Let me know
12:09in the comments
12:09if this topic
12:10deserves a separate
12:11episode.
12:12Thank you for your
12:13fair assessment
12:14of this video,
12:15and see you on our channel.