Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
Apparently, even now, well after the fall of the USSR, the compact reactor tech is basically unknown, and one of the scientists featured in the program wants to find it because he believes that a similar reactor could safely power up to 150,000 homes. This would be something that would be particularly desirable in the T2k world, so this compact reactor strikes me as a potentially cool MacGuffin for a Canada-based campaign.
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I find this somewhat amusing, because the BES-5 had lower power density than some RTG systems - it produced 3 watts of electrical power per kilogram, while Voyager 1's MHW-RTG in 1977 produced 4.2 watts of electrical power per kilogram, and the more modern GPHS-RTG used since 1989's Galileo produces 5.4 watts per kilogram. In fact, Voyager 1 is
still producing more electrical power per kilogram of power source mass than a BES-5, after 44 years of the RTG decaying (it's around 3.1-3.2 watts per kilogram).
It also needed very highly enriched uranium (90+%). I'd question the availability of that fuel in the T2K world, and it's one reason such a reactor would be unlikely to see terrestrial civilian use in our world, as it would be a target for actors (both state and non-state) seeking enriched fuel for their own purposes.
With all that said, it is a good McGuffin for a campaign. There was also a 1973 launch failure that dropped a reactor into the Pacific Ocean north of Japan, but I don't know details beyond that.