Re:Small nuclear reactors: tiny NuScale reactor gets safety ...
by ses1984 on Friday September 04, 2020 @01:15AM
(#24371904)
Metals melt at lower temperatures than salt.
Also think of how saltwater effects metal. That's just a bit of salt dissolved in water. Molten salt is like that, but way more concentrated, and hotter. Corrosive reactions go faster when you add heat. Molten salt is like metal's worst nightmare.
That's before you even add the radioactivity into the mix, I believe that makes this problem an order of magnitude harder than just trying to contain molten salt, which is already kinda pretty hard.
Stone, maybe, something like a specialized ceramic could work?
Also think of how saltwater effects metal. That's just a bit of salt dissolved in water. Molten salt is like that, but way more concentrated, and hotter. Corrosive reactions go faster when you add heat. Molten salt is like metal's worst nightmare.
That's before you even add the radioactivity into the mix, I believe that makes this problem an order of magnitude harder than just trying to contain molten salt, which is already kinda pretty hard.
Stone, maybe, something like a specialized ceramic could work?