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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.
K. L. Murty, J. R. Holland
Nuclear Technology | Volume 58 | Number 3 | September 1982 | Pages 530-537
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32986
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Received June 8, 1981 Accepted for Publication July 31, 1981 Tensile and low cycle fatigue characteristics of Type 304 stainless steel were determined at room temperature and 325°C in both the unirradiated and irradiated (∼8 X 1026 n/m2, >0.1 MeV) conditions. The irradiated tensile specimens exhibited radiation hardening and embrittlement with a significant drop in ductility at 325°C; however, they still behaved as ductile materials with 4 to 5% total elongation. Fatigue tests were conducted at a fixed frequency of 0.1 cps in four-point bending mode with full strain reversal and all tests were carried out under strain control Both the deflection and load were continuously monitored, and the number of cycles to failure was determined at total axial strain ranges varying from ∼1.0 to 2.4%. The number of cycles to failure varied from ∼500 to 40 000. Data at both the room temperature and 325°C indicated that irradiation improved fatigue life at strains lower than ∼1.6%, whereas a slight decrease in life is noted at higher strain ranges. Correlations of the experimental data with predictions of the universal and characteristic slopes equations, based on appropriate tensile properties, are discussed. A modified equation predicting the present data was developed based on the universal slopes concept and tensile properties, such as the ultimate tensile stress, ductility, and work-hardening coefficient.