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On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
S. Pearlstein
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 61 | Number 4 | December 1976 | Pages 466-470
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE76-A14483
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Curves for the reciprocal asymptotic period versus positive reactivity for ENDF/B-IV delayed neutron data are presented for 232Th, 233U, 235U, 238U, 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Pu nuclides. A procedure is described for reducing the dependence of reactivity interpretations, through period measurements, on the nuclidic composition of the fuel. The sensitivity of the results to incremental changes in the delayed neutron parameters is also presented. Reactivity, in dollar units, is sensitive to the relative yields of the delayed neutron groups.
