Production Report 11a

Working on a project in stages can help to make sure that each of its peices is able to function independent of the rest of its parts. Reporting on the progress allows for others to observe the process and insure that I am on track.

Outline Section:
Body #2: Weapons grade Uranium Production

Adaptation: (Sorry about the form, it messed during the pasting process)

With all these merits of Thorium reactors, it can be hard to find a reasonable fault that could overshadow them. The most prevalent argument against Thorium reactors is the capability for them to produce Weapons-grade Uranium for use in nuclear bombs. According to an article published by Nature.com, the process by which Thorium become fissile will produce Protractium-233 which breaks down into Uranium-233, a isotope of Uranium that is commonly used in the production of Uranium bombs. If the Protractium-233 is removed early enough in the process it will naturally decay into Uranium-233 within a few months (Ashley, Stephen F). Not only does this process produce Weapons-grade Uranium, it does so without altering the reaction process and can easily be created without the Atomic Energy Agency knowing, making Nuclear Proliferation increasingly difficult.

So, maybe this is a large fault in the design of the reactors. But it is not one easily exploited. According the article from Nature.com, the amount of energy that is given off by the decaying processes is 50 watts per gram of Protratium-233 (Ashely, Stephen F). This might seem meaningless to someone who isn’t familiar with energy so to put it in perspective, 50 Watts would raise the temperature of 1 gram of water, 12 degrees Celsius which is about 21.6 degrees Fahrenheit. In order for something to be considered weapons-grade it must be 8 kilograms meaning that the amount of energy produced is roughly 400,000 Watts of energy. This amount of energy produced requires large facilities meaning terrorist groups would be unable to carry out the conversion (McKenna, Phil). So the dangers of weapons-grade Uranium falling into the wrong hands are minimized. This leaves governments having the ability to produce the weapons-grade Uranium and with countries like North Korea with the potential to become increasingly dangerous. For this, there is no response and the only thing that can be done is monitor the process as closely as possible to ensure that the Protractium is not extracted and allowed to be made into Uranium.

Question Answers:

1. How did you decide to use form to present your content in the raw material you’ve shared here? How did the conventions of your chosen genre influence your choices?

I used the form of a College Standard Essay because I feel like I can convey my argument better and reference my sources easier. The ability to cite information and the rigid structure of the Standard College Essay were the two conventions that influenced my decision.

 

2. How did the production of this raw material go? What kinds of any hiccups, challenges, successes, creative epiphanies, etc. occurred during the process?

One of the challenges I faced in this production process was trying to find a good rebuttal to the ability for North Korea to get Nuclear weapons. I still am looking, please help.