h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.h2g2.com/A431489

This entry hopes to de-mystify the inner workings of a nuclear power plant. Personally, I would rather have a nuclear plant next door than have a coal plant, which spews smoke into the air and requires 20 dump trucks full of coal driving through town every day.

Wampus

Before I comment, I'd like to issue a disclaimer - I live in the same township as Three Mile Island.

I found this entry to be rather pro-nuclear. I'd like to see you give some space to the waste disposal problem. I'd also like to see you at least mention the major accidents (compared to the entire industry, that would support your feelings that it is a safe power source).

TMI is one of the reasons for all that government regulation - and we're lucky that its partial meltdown didn't irradiate the entire eastern seaboard of the US. There was far too much time in which the men in charge didn't know what was going on inside the plant.

Now my only complaint about the plant is that it doesn't pay its property taxes, making my taxes higher. TMI today is probably one of the safest nuclear generating stations in the US. All the anti-nuclear groups monitor it - it can't afford the public relations nightmare of another slip-up.

This was a good entry - I just felt it needed a little more balance, taking into account the anti-nuclear camp.



- X

Without trying to start a debate, I didn't write this to promote nuclear power, per se. This entry isn't entitled, "Joys of Nuclear Power," it's entitled "How a Nuclear Plant Works." I think the pro/anti nuke debate is a subject for a different entry.

I added some text about the storage problem and about what actually happened at TMI and Chernobyl.

When talking about balance, keep in mind that even before I added that stuff, the disadvantage section was twice as long as the advantage section of the entry. Presently, the text (including footnotes) of the disadvantage section is about as much as the rest of the article put together.

Wampus

Good article. Well written and concise. I think you get the balance between the advantages and the disadvantages just right.

MDS

I think that there is a good balance between pro and anti, except in the first paragraph. It seems to suggest that the public are ridiculous to think that anything nuclear is negative. Many of us are in fact well informed on the subject and still think that anything nuclear is negative. Other than that, the article is very good. I would recommend with that one slight change.

Hi Wampus.

You'll be glad to know this has been recommended at long last. The Editors have given it the okay and it has gone forward to become part of the edited guide. Congratulations!

You'll receive an e-mail when it goes live, but it may take a little time for the article to work its way through.

Keep up the good work!

MDS

Woo-hoo!

*jumps out of his glowing chair and dances around the room, leaving a trail of glowing footprints*

One minor point...

TMI is located in Londonderry Township, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania or you could use its postal address of Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA. Harrisburg is the nearest 'major' city, but Middletown is more correct as its location.

I live in Londonderry Township and TMI doesn't pay property taxes to the municipality or the local school concern.

Not that I'm biased...

*puts on lead clothing*

The comparison between a fighter jet and a car is a good one in only one respect - fighter jets are a lot more expensive than cars, just as a NPS is far more expensive than a FFPS.

I fly aircraft, and if you set up the trimming tabs you can fly for several miles without having to touch the controls.

Contrast this with a car, where if you take your hands off thewhell you will crash within 100m...

Just thinking...

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they haven't been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next.

Congratulations!