Best products from r/nuclear

I'm not any sort of expert on personal dosimeters, any recommendation I'd make would be based on the same googling you'd be doing. Honestly at that price point if you were otherwise happy with it I'd just buy another one. Only problem I see with it is a pretty low gamma energy detection range that tops out at 1.25MeV, but if you're just interested in knowing when you've entered a general increase in background it's fine.

The Thermo Mk2 EPDs we use at work are very robust but they may be more than you're looking to spend. I've always been curious about the ultra compact smartphone adapter detectors, maybe check those out? https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Radiation-Personal-Detector-Smartphone/dp/B00VVL3YH8 for example

Not only can you legaly posses it, but thanks to the wonders of the internet you can easily purchase it on Amazon for about $40 USD. As others have pointed out, naturally occurring Uranium ore, and DU are legal without too much restriction. But for Special Nuclear Material (Enriched U-235, Pu-239, other isotopes capable of a critical reaction) you would need a NRC License (in the US).

The Power to Save the World by Gwenyth Cravens is a pretty good narrative one, if a bit polemical.

_Nuclear Energy is a good primer on the physics involved.

Fluid fueled reactors_ is a review of an alternative class of reactors.

They are passively safe as long as they are rather small, EBR-II was 60MWt. Small reactors are expensive. Large metal cooled FRs have positive void coefficient, and need a lot of safety gear.

SFRs need more unique equipment since it has two heat transfer fluids (i.e. sodium and water pumps), double-walled HXes, 3 loops instead of 2, more complicated reactor vessel, etc.

From: http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Spectrum-Reactors-Alan-Waltar/dp/1441995714
>The cost increment over the LWR has generally been assumed to range between 10 and 25% for mature plants.

It's an older one, but you read this book cover to cover and you'll know more than like 70% of engineers in the industry. It's s great reference. A Guide to Nuclear Power Technology: A Resource for Decision Making https://www.amazon.com/dp/0894646524/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZzW7Ab9CAHSXD

As for websites on news, nucleartownhall points you to just about everywhere.

If you're seriously interested there are a couple books on the subject. I've read them both, they're quite good.

One is Plentiful Energy by Till and Yang, who were chief scientists for the Integral Fast Reactor, a government experiment that the PRISM is based on. It goes into a lot of detail on the design's technical advantages, while still being accessible.

Another is Prescription for the Planet by Tom Blees, who basically was the first to publicize the reactor with this book. Less technical detail, more on the politics that led to the shutdown, societal impact, etc. Free online here, and you can also read a short article by Blees here.

Also James Hansen advocates them in Storms of My Grandchildren, and references Blees.

This author is pretty good. Atomic Accidents, Atomic Awakening, and Atomic Adventures are all great reads and are also available in audiobook. I drive 10-14 hours a day so audiobooks are my thing.

Idaho Falls is pretty good too since it heavily details the first big atomic accident ever if you don't count Kyshtym. I enjoy reading about accidents and what caused them since each accident was a teachable moment in the industry.

Also look into biographies of Oppenheimer, the Curies, Fermi, and Niels Bohr.

So the book I linked will in no way make you able to go out and obtain accurate measurements, its mostly post-measurements data understanding/manipulation.

This is the textbook I used in school for my class introductory course on radiation detection, interesting side note, when my mother was in college she used the third edition (I used the fourth). It goes over a lot of the theory behind detectors. It's a much drier read than the health physics book, and a lot more math. Detection requires a fair bit of math and a little electronics knowledge to understand, plus a good dose (hah) of understanding of radiation itself. Wikipedia can be a good source for a broad overview of the more esoteric types of detectors.

All this said, getting accurate measurements requires training and not just books.

This book goes into great detail about Mini Nuclear Reactors. The primary benefit being that they could be manufactured on an assembly line similar to a Boeing 737.

https://www.amazon.com/Answer-Inherently-Nuclear-Power-Plants/dp/1593720459

If cost really isn't an issue, the Thermo Fisher EPD TruDose is what we use at my facility, and I know from travel that it (or its now-discontinued predecessor, the EPD Mk2) is widely used throughout the industry. I've also used the DMC3000 and it's great too. Both have belt clips with displays that face up.

Really though, for the amount of dose we're talking about, and if you don't intend to use it on an ongoing basis or have it form part of an official dosimetry record, you'll do just as well with something for about $100 on Amazon.

It's not entry level, but after you get your feet wet I'd recommend this.

After Fukushima: What We Now Know: A History of Nuclear Power and Radiation https://www.amazon.com/dp/1534946306/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AGezCb49DE1V7

It looks like the episodes are on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/ryw5vGQjOWM

Amazon also sells it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000AYYV74?ref=imdbref_andp_tt_wbr_amazon&tag=imdbtag_andp_tt_wbr_amazon-21

We had to use our at-the-time chairs' book: Nuclear Reactor Physics, Weston Stacey. Everyone, including our professor, recommended using Duderstadt and Hamilton instead. It is the "blue bible" of reactor physics. You have the two most recommended resources.

This is a problem associated especially with the category known as Mega Projects, which typically require some form of public approval. This is for civil, nuclear, military, really all categories of Megaprojects. The F35 and Boston's Big Dig are fun examples
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaproject?wprov=sfla1

This professor has written extensively in the subject.
https://www.amazon.com/Megaprojects-Risk-Ambition-Bent-Flyvbjerg/dp/0521009464

Not all nuclear projects are destined to become Megaprojects, small modular reactors may remain Major projects instead, much less likely to go over budget by nature of scale, but still dependent on the capability and competence of those involved.

>Are Thorium reactors, especially molten salt reactors, cost-effective?

"LFTR produces electricity cheaper than from coal
Small, modular LFTRs can be factory-produced. Capital costs for LFTR electric power plants can be about $2/watt. Recovering capital expenses will cost about 2 cents per kWh for a plant operating 90% of the time with money borrowed at 8%. Thorium fuel cost is insignificant compared to coal costs. LFTR can produce power at about $0.03/kWh, cheaper than coal."

Thorium Energy Cheaper Than Coal - Robert Hargraves (page 85)

https://www.amazon.com/THORIUM-energy-cheaper-than-coal/dp/1478161299

Robert Hargraves has a PhD Physics and teaches energy policy at Dartmouth an Ivy League school, and co-author Ralph Moir (Lawrence Livermore National Lab) a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and author of numerous papers on molten salt reactors.