>>On Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:42:30 -0500, Bill Snyder <bsny...@airmail.net>
>>wrote:

>>>>>> As they say, close enough for government work.

>>>Check out "pebble-bed" reactors.

>>I think I did say so way upthread, it was certainly one design I had
>>in mind, again (and I won't even check on Wikipedia) such proposals
>>are decades old, but other than maybe a proof of concept I don't think
>>they've ever been in real production.  I have vague recollections of
>>articles dozens of years ago on why not, remaining design issues, and
>>the fuel cycle thing for the pebbles.  Or, are they using them already
>>in France or somewhere?

>>Goddamn Google anyway you can never just mention something and let it
>>drift, ...

>>http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-demise-of-the-peb...
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_bed_reactor

>>Yeah, close enuf.

>I see one of those URL's has the word "demise" in it.  Seems a tad
>overstated, to say the least.  Not up-to-the-minute, but a couple
>of years more recent news:

><http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/energy-environment/25china...>

>"SHIDAO, China While engineers at Japan s stricken nuclear power
>plant struggle to keep its uranium fuel rods from melting down,
>engineers in China are building a radically different type of
>reactor that some experts say offers a safer nuclear alternative."