Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Nuclear Fear

After it was revealed that seven anti-tank missile launchers were stolen in Australia and planned to be used for terrorists attacks, the media were very quick to say that the Lucas Heights research nuclear reactor in Sydney could have been a potential terrorist target.

That's right, idiots. With 50 years of a very-well researched nuclear industry behind them, the designers of the newly built OPAL reactor forgot to make it missile proof. Is intelligence a rare trait nowadays, or has its use gone out of fashion? More here.

The old reactor was, if memory serves, the size of a washing machine, produced enough power to boil a kettle of water, and was a good 40 years old. The new one is more efficient, and naturally, far superiour in safety. The research reactor, among other things, is used for neutron diffraction where they analyse and obtain the shape and characteristics of various materials, and even DNA. The byproducts are used to make radioactive medicines for all of Australia and even the proudly "nuclear free" New Zealand.

Ironically, an old professor of mine uses the reactor to study certain hydrogen-storing techniques in order to devise better, more environmentally-friendly fuel storage devices for greener cars.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

what I want to know is, how the ferk does our wondrous military manages to "misplace" 7 rocket launchers...

"hey charlie, whats in the bag?"...
"erm... its my hockey equipment sarge, honest injun's"

10:41 am  
Blogger Engels said...

It is call for concer. A supermarket knows how much stuff goes "missing".How many rocket launchers can there be?

I found it interesting that one of the guys interested in the rocket launcher, who was arrested late last year, was being investigated by police before 2003...

1:45 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I heard on JJJ (I think) that the 'Rocket Launchers' wouldn't have done anything really. They were some sort of rocker that could only just pierce an Armoured Personal Carrier (not even a tank), and then it was designed to spray/bounce shrapnel around the inside and kill the dudes in there. There would be a small external explosion where it hit, just to puncture through the layer of metal.

Consider the Lucas Heights Reactor consists of several shells, to stop any explosions inside from getting out and anything from outside exploding in, it wouldn't have done much apart from maybe stick a bit of a hole in the outer layer.

10:42 pm  
Blogger Engels said...

Exactly.

8:46 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home