Reply To: Repowering the electric utility industry

[Joeviocoe]

dennisp wrote: Joe I think ikanreed knows the difference. His point is that if they were able to maintain that power output for 1/8 second, it would be the the same energy as Hiroshima. They actually maintain it for a much shorter span of time, but the comparison still gives a good impression of the power level they’re talking about.

Sorry if that came across as a bit harsh. The reason I am so adamant about not comparing things like that, is because it can foster unscientific reasoning.

And more importantly, newcomers or any less educated folks in politics or the media… could think that this facility contains that much energy at any given time.. and a simple accident (like the beam not shutting off for 1/8th of a second) could vaporize the city of Livermore, California.

BTW, 2 Megajoules is about 0.55 kilowatt-hours. About half the energy in your standard 12 volt Car Battery. I wouldn’t want anyone comparing that to an Atomic Bomb.