COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The Guardian reports that Danish company Seaborg Technologies plans to fit barges with small nuclear reactors, to provide energy to developing countries. <br /><br />These reactors will be Compact Molten Salt Reactors, or CMSRs, in short. <br /><br />This is how CMSRs work: <br /><br />The primary loop is where the heat from standard nuclear rods are transferred to molten fluoride salt. <br /><br />The secondary loop is where this superheated liquid transfers its heat to a heat exchanger filled with coolant salt.<br /><br />The third loop is where the heat from the coolant salt is finally transferred to the liquids that will now transmit the nuclear heat energy into high-pressure steam, that spin the turbines, that spin fast to create lots of electricity. <br /><br />So, instead of Light Water, these reactors use salt that only melts at very high temperatures. <br /><br />Seaborg says this means that if the reactor core is ever exposed, the salt will turn into a solid rock, trapping the nuclear material inside it. <br /><br />Unlike the explosive pressures of other reactors, CMSRs operate at near-atmospheric pressures, and feature a frozen salt plug that melts if overheating occurs, allowing the core to drain into cooled tanks.
