On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:58:14 +0100, Timothy Murphy wrote
(in article ):

Ian White wrote:

Fast breeders are used principally for weapon production.


No, they aren't. You can't begin to play with fast breeders without
already having everything you need to make weapons-grade plutonium by a
much quicker and easier route.

"It is generally agreed that the FBR poses a greater risk of proliferation
of nuclear weapons than light water-moderated reactors.
An FBR can more easily produce weapons grade material."

That's a very thin argument along the lines that one shouldn't process oil
products because of the possibility of making explosives.



In contrast, the fast breeder was conceived as a way to extract more
energy from 'used' plutonium and uranium that had already reached the
end of its working life in first-generation thermal reactors. It was a
clever concept, but it never had any prospect of being economic.

Which is exactly what I said.

However, my main point is that nuclear power stations are often spoken of
as an unlimited source of energy,
whereas in fact the known reserves of uranium
are of the same order as the known reserves of oil.


Hmmm..... reports on that vary widely and are based on a number of
inter-related and more complex factors than are involved in oil discovery and
production. The mid-field view is that there is supply of nuclear fuel
(including all means to produce it) well into the 22nd century.