When I close my eyes, I see a beautiful scenery of earth ground looking down from a cabinet of a shuttle coming back home.
A possible future
I gave a second thought to the said problem of nuclear power plant if it is bad thing to continue. There are many positive aspects in the system regardless of negative points, so that it may not be such a bad thing and it may be accepted well by all the people. However, our instinct against the technology always raise questions that relates to a fear about painful and gradual death because of the systemic failure of cellular functions. We die anyways and any type of death may be the same. The disasters like atomic bombs during the war and the Chernobuil power plant incident stop us to accept the technology. Personally I am in a position strongly against the energy politics relying on the nuclear power plants.
It is questionable that the society is accepting nuclear power as the energy source to accommodate low-carbon demands. Is the cost performance involved in this judge? By the way, this carbon-dependent society producing large amount of carbon dioxide is considered as is in a line of using fire as a tool which is the history of human being itself. Furthermore, this burning process is also the foundation of all living things that is oxidation of carbohydrates to produce energy in the cell. The reverse process is called photosynthesis that consuming carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen. The earth itself, at deep inside the crust, might be considered to be involved in reduction of oxidized carbon compounds under high pressure, high temperature, and oxygen deficient conditions. For this reason, oxidation process by burning carbon compounds may be regarded as a part of earth activity.
Instead, how do we consider the nuclear reactors? The reactors including PET (positron emission tomography) for the medical use can create new elements those have not been existed before on the earth. It might be potentially dangerous. We have to think carefully about both aspects not just the positive aspects but also negative aspects. As a scientist, I recognize the importance of basic research, results and their applications. However, it might be wrong if the society tend to think all the results and technologies should be used in the society. The idea to regard the return on investment as importance might be fine but it is not everything that is important. There might be a case not to utilize a finding. We exist in this universe in this time period and should always aware of this.
Despite the above considerations, it might just be a thought from a personal fear. So, I considered an alternative way if we decide to rely on the particular technology admitting that the power is safe to use. Furthermore, if the majority decide to use the technology, we can start considering recruiting a nuclear power plant to our home town. The following is a plan how to build a beautiful city for the coming era.
The following story is one of my proposals for the future. I came up with the idea for about 5 years ago and wrote it in November 13, 2010.
Dig a hole with its diameter of about 2 km. Pile the earth and sand obtained by digging around the hole. The overall depth of the hole from the top of the pile to its bottom would be about 100 m, which looks like a crater. The suitable location would be hilly section of a city. We are going to build a town at the wall of the crater-like hole. Also, at the bottom of it, we create power plant. The plant is covered with water using groundwater crating a lake, which in turn is used as heat exchange process of the plant and further useful in the occasion of a disastrous incident to cool down the core. From the water surface to the top of the crater is going to a circular continuous building facing interior of the crater. We build a commuting system around the building, which is build at the same time of digging and piling process. The system is created to form several layers. The core of this commuting system is the “shuttle” that commutes three-dimensionally that stops at shuttlehubs. These hubs are also accept access of commuting systems to and from outside cities through tunnels. All of these elements are berried under ground. The round-shaped building consists of several sections, such as office-, business-, living-, education-, and medical-section. The manufacture section may be build at the bottom part of the building. The power plant and the water and drainage services are created at the bottom part of the crater. Underneath the bottom layer, we create the storage section for the most unwanted nuclear waste. The out rim of the crater is the forests and farms.
Consumption efficiency of energy and water is dramatically improved in this crater-shaped city. Utilization of generated heat from a power plant, the water temperature is controlled, the core is cooled at the same time, and secure “marine” resources for eating. The lake is rich in creature and so contributes to the regeneration of wasted water from the surrounding building. The water is further purified by the water service plant for drinking.
In the case of a meltdown incident, the radiation is limited to above the crater-city area because the plant is at the bottom of a hole. Such event can be avoided by the water-shield effect of the lake. Furthermore, we secure the entire city as a system by preinstalled self-destructing mechanism. Since the outer rim mountain is made of the lock and soil from the hole, the volume is enough to bury the hole. Thus, the entire city is buried before occurrence of the radiation leakage that affect environment and other cities.
It will be the era when we go to and comeback from the orbiter and the Luna base. And when we comeback from the space looking down the dear old home ground, we see beautiful scene. The total green and amongst artificial crater-like mountains with its interior reflecting sunlight. The mountains are connected by several faint lines which are transportation systems. How beautiful it is you are seeing.
…contributed by a time walker
