Is Nuclear Waste a power source?

Question

Nuclear Power is Green, thats its biggest 'Pro', yet the 'Con' is its waste however can we use that waste, if so what for??

Daniel.

Answer 1

hahahaa you're funny

nuclear waste is not a power source haha

Answer 2

This is an excellent question! Of course nuclear waste is a power source -- we just do not YET know how to make it so.

There is this to consider -- (the first thing that came to mind) -- quite a few months ago there was a story about a guy researching cancer treatments via radio waves who, with a concentrated focused bombardment during a trial was able to break down the H2O bond and release hydrogen, which he burned. Literally, it was water burning.

What if the waste radiation could do something like that?

Anyway, I think you have hit upon an excellent question that is pertinent to our time. In my opinion, there really isn't any such thing as "waste" -- just undiscovered uses.

You might enjoy my site, heatstick dot com, I manufacture a product that makes space heat from the "wasted" heat of a candle, among other odds and ends.

Answer 3

if you can use the radiation to actually move something then yes it could but otherwise not.  All generators have to have something to move them such as a windmill or a motor.  Radiation in a microwave just moves the inside of the food so I don't think that nuclear waste could be used to move anything big enough to drive a generator.  

Answer 4

yes and no.

clearly it does give off radiation.

and when it does that, it gives off heat as well.

it does not give off enough heat to make it practical to run a power plant.

but it's still dangerous, so it takes considerable shielding.

it's one of those things for which there are only bad answers.

what you really need to do is find some place to put it.

in an optimum world, maybe burying it in a subduction zone, such that it would get carried down into the mantle would be best.

but we're not anywhere near being able to do that, unfortunately.

Answer 5

Nuclear waste by itself is not a power source, but it can be recycled.  Other countries like France, recycle spent fuel rods and put them back into the system.  Our government and other agencies have let superstitions build up and are influenced by movies made decades ago.  So instead of spending millions a year on storing nuclear waste, we could be using it and reusing it.