this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2025
156 points (99.4% liked)

Technology

4942 readers
690 users here now

Which posts fit here?

Anything that is at least tangentially connected to the technology, social media platforms, informational technologies and tech policy.


Post guidelines

[Opinion] prefixOpinion (op-ed) articles must use [Opinion] prefix before the title.


Rules

1. English onlyTitle and associated content has to be in English.
2. Use original linkPost URL should be the original link to the article (even if paywalled) and archived copies left in the body. It allows avoiding duplicate posts when cross-posting.
3. Respectful communicationAll communication has to be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
4. InclusivityEveryone is welcome here regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
5. Ad hominem attacksAny kind of personal attacks are expressly forbidden. If you can't argue your position without attacking a person's character, you already lost the argument.
6. Off-topic tangentsStay on topic. Keep it relevant.
7. Instance rules may applyIf something is not covered by community rules, but are against lemmy.zip instance rules, they will be enforced.


Companion communities

!globalnews@lemmy.zip
!interestingshare@lemmy.zip


Icon attribution | Banner attribution


If someone is interested in moderating this community, message @brikox@lemmy.zip.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

This is a much cheaper and faster way to get nuclear power.

top 47 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'm just a former Navy Nuke, but I see a major issue with this. Namely, by the time we retire ship-board nuclear reactors, they have been absorbing neutrons and radiation for 30 years, so the steel is weak enough that you could put a ball-peen hammer through it.

[–] dass93@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 hours ago

But then we just dick a hole if there happens anything. 

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 14 points 23 hours ago

The wiki on radiation embrittlement is pretty good reading for any mechanical engineers out there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_embrittlement

[–] Devworker@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Do the people that think this a good idea just not see how fast they are trying to prop up new AI datacenters?

Corners are being cut everywhere to get these things built so quickly

I honestly wouldn't even trust them with to make their own power safely even with things like hydro, wind or geothermal

But fucking nuclear of all things?

They know it would take decades to build the actual nuclear power plants to run everything so they decid to instead try buying nuclear power generators that are already several decades old

[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 minutes ago

Everything about project certainty and costs is a lie here.

Moving reactors to somewhere permanent that isn't prime waterfront dock space, reactors past their design life, is simply not realistic. Low ball cost estimates with loan guarantees is the typical nuclear energy boondoggle.

These are just the initial cost estimates over decommission process, but if it were feasible, part of initial design, this wouldn't be an "afterthought scam".

[–] falseWhite@programming.dev 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

What's the worst that could happen? Elon or Zucker getting blown up by one while opening their brand new data center?

[–] p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

This is a much cheaper and faster way to get nuclear power.

Is this "journalist" an industry plant?

Literally every single one saying anything good about this shit is.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 day ago

What could possibly go wrong?

[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 48 points 1 day ago (3 children)

So I got a job at this company back in the day that did phone and email customer service for other companies.

I was one of the last people they ever hired. Me and 7 other people were shown to our cubicles that had brand new Dell sff computers and peripherals in their boxes.

We were told the IT guys were off or on sick leave and I offered to try and set the machines up at least to save time. With the help of the others we plugged everything in and then kinda sat there all day doing nothing.

Next day we all show up for work and we see people carrying boxes out of the building. Turns out the owner was neck deep in debt and just dissappeared, people were told they shouldn't be expecting any more paychecks or bother suing.

Basically the manager told everyone to just sort of take whatever they want home and everyone just took their work PC home. Me and 7 other people basically got a free PC for half a day's work, others got shafted though...

All I'm trying to say here is maybe DON'T SELL NUCLEAR AIRCRAFT CARRIER REACTORS to private companies that are 100% going to go tits up soon when yet another tech bubble bursts and those reactors end up being sold on AliExpress?

[–] krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Stop worrying.

It's all fine. It'll stay fine.

Look, I don't know much about nuclear reactors, but I do know when you jam some plutonium in some stuff steam comes out and goes brrrr.

Does that sound like something dangerous? Dangerous things don't go brrrrr.

Steam is just water. Do you hate water? Hydrophobes like you make me sick.

How else am I supposed to get 3d models of giant titted anime waifus that will say filthy things to me while crank my hog?

Nuclear reactors go brrrrr. My hog goes brrrrrr. Anime waifus go brrrrrr. See? Totally safe.

Also, not to be pedantic, but it's spelled nookyalurr.

Sounds like you just hate freedom and progress.

[–] Eh_I@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No problem, got my eyes on a Trident missile.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Make sure to get the PAL code for the nuke, too.

[–] Eh_I@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I got an old NES GameGenie around here somewhere we can hack it with. We can hook it up to an AI! No... I can hook it up to an AI. Power over life and death feels like a toy. My toy.

[–] rafoix@lemmy.zip 39 points 1 day ago (5 children)

They should be forced to make their own clean power plants. No clean coal, no natural gas. Only renewable since it is a guarantee that they will leave 100% of the cost of the nuclear disposal to the taxpayers.

[–] iloveDigit@piefed.social 1 points 31 minutes ago

It is also a guarantee they will not handle disposal safely

[–] punksnotdead@slrpnk.net 1 points 18 hours ago

Nuclear energy is a con
It's just a cover for making their bombs
And it sends people to an early grave
So we want the power of the wind and the waves

Harness the wind
Harness the waves
We don't need this filthy nuclear waste
Solar power - yet another alternative
Think of the boundless energy the sun has to give
Then there's hydro-electricity with turbines and dams
And we can cut our consumption with conservation programmes

Harness the wind
The sun the waves
We don't need this filthy nuclear waste
The civil atomic energy programmes is nothing but an elaborate cover-up for the real use of nuclear power namely the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons
We call for an end to the nuclear power programmes and properly funded research into renewable sources of energy

Harness the wind
The sun the waves
We don't need this filthy nuclear waste

https://youtu.be/DjF6g51GHng

[–] deforestgump@hexbear.net 11 points 1 day ago

You underestimate the fact that all of these tech CEOs are in a death cult.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone -5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

What renewables can they use for 24/7 high levels of power requirements?

[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 minutes ago

Even though wind has higher capacity factors in most places, solar is more reliable.

Its a myth that ai datacenters need constant power. Inference uses less than training. And more queries happen during day than night. Less cooling power needed at night.

It is especially easy to build solar that will export to grid more than import throughout year, but it is also easy to be off grid, and store cooling for night, and for winter, and to not run max load in winter, or share grid imports in winter for regions with non electric heating. Share surpluses in 3 seasons.

[–] rafoix@lemmy.zip 26 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I don’t give a shit. That should be their problem not ours.

If they’re too dumb to figure it out, they’re too dumb to make AI profitable.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don’t give a shit. That should be their problem not ours.

This should be everyone's reaction when faced with "but how will [company] profit with [X] ?" questions.

[–] rafoix@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 day ago

It’s a bunch of indoctrination brainrot where all they ever think about is being of service to the wealthy.

[–] rimu@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago

Maybe they should ask ChatGPT.

[–] SassySerf@thriv.social 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They can afford the higher cost of electricity, but the rest of us can't, if they can add nuclear reactors to the power grid then it will drive the prices for normal people down so that it's nearly free.

[–] rafoix@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 day ago

You actually think they would lower the cost of electricity. Other than naivety, what evidence do you have that will show us how benevolent tech bros are?

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And who will pay for the disposal and storage of the waste produced?

[–] ulterno@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago

Us of course. With the small 's'.

[–] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Fallout is actually gonna happen before we get HL3

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Definitely before we get fallout 5.

[–] invertedspear@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Has MS done anything with all the IPs they bought over the last 10v or so years? I haven’t seen anything new in an old IP that’s excited me in the gaming world.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 23 hours ago

I honestly couldn't tell you, they've bought so many...

[–] potatopotato@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Ah yes, let's give rich people weapons grade uranium (what these compact reactors run on)

[–] Transform2942@lemmy.ml 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Just FYI reactor grade uranium is generally enriched below 5% whereas weapons grade is enriched to ~85%

[–] potatopotato@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Aircraft carriers don't use reactor grade, they use HEU for more power out of smaller more compact reactors and less frequent refueling. IIRC 93%+ is common.

[–] Transform2942@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

Huh didn't know that, thanks

[–] BussyCat@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Weapons grade uranium is so expensive and energy intensive to make that I can’t imagine they would ever pay for it and the fuel is at end of life so would need refueling soon.

The navy likely puts a safety margin on the fuel so there is probably some life left in the fuel but I would be very surprised if it lasted more than a year or two which is where I am confused on how this would work

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Oh good. I was hoping we’d find a way for AI to consume more water.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago

What if we put the AI in the ocean

[–] Rambomst@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

It's a Christmas miracle!

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

And all the brave men and women of the various branches of the armed forces can just dance and juggle for the mighty king! Yey!