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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.
Masao Hamada, Kunio Uehara, Kazuyoshi Muramatsu, Takanobu Kamei, Tetsuo Tamaoki, Mitsuaki Yamaoka, † Yukio Sonoda, Yuji Sano, Masuo Sato, Takayuki Sudo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 98 | Number 1 | April 1992 | Pages 1-13
Technical Paper | Fast Reactor Safety / Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34646
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Detection and location of failed fuel in a liquidmetal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) are very important both for safety and availability. When a fuel failure is detected, it is desirable to identify the failed subassembly quickly to reduce plant shutdown time. The flux tilting method is expected to effectively identify the defective subassembly. The feasibility of the flux tilting method is investigated for an LMFBR with a 1000-MW(electric) homogeneous core. A numerical simulation is performed to estimate the viability of the flux tilting method, and a combination of the flux tilting method and the sipping method is found to be very effective in identifying the failed subassembly. A functional scheme for a computer-aided failed fuel detection and location system is discussed as part of a future online support system.
