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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.
John Toman
Nuclear Technology | Volume 27 | Number 4 | December 1975 | Pages 692-704
Technical Paper | Nuclear Explosive | doi.org/10.13182/NT75-A24342
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reentry drilling established communication with the top Rio Blanco detonation region at a depth of 1704 m, or ∼76 m above the top detonation center. A total of 2.8 × 106 m3 (98 × 106 ft3) of dry gas at standard conditions has now been produced during two separate test periods. Radioactive and chemical analysis of this gas and the modeling of the stimulated reservoir show the following main results: 1. No permeable connection exists between the top and the middle detonation regions, since no significant amount of the tracer incorporated in the center explosive canister was detected in the produced gas. As a consequence, results for the top detonation region only are available at this time. 2. The initial cavity radius is deduced to be 20 m (66 ft) or well within expectations. 3. Integration of the 85Kr produced indicates a yield of 34 ± 3 kt for the top explosive. 4. Of the ∼1000 Ci of tritium produced in the top explosion region, ∼5% is incorporated in the gas phase. 5. Pressure drawdown and buildup data are best reproduced by a two-layer reservoir model showing stimulated permeabilities ∼10 and 30 times original formation permeabilities, and extending to a distance of ∼3 cavity radii from the wellbore. 6. The capacity of the reservoir intercepted by the top explosive is deduced to be ∼0.2 millidarcy-meters (md-m) [0.73 millidarcy-feet (md-ft)], as contrasted with preshot estimates ranging from 1.3 md-m (4.1 md-ft) to 2.3 md-m (7.6 md-ft). Additional subsurface investigations of the other detonation regions, as well as a reevaluation of the initial reservoir properties, are in progress.