Put A Nuclear Reactor In Your Basement

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:08:34 PST

You could soon have your own personal nuclear reactor, in your basement next to the hot-water heater and your washer/dryer. Here's a scale model of the Toshiba 4-S personal reactor, which is advertised as "super-safe, small and simple." Click through for a diagram showing how it would look in your home.

The 4-S can run for 30 years without any refueling, and doesn't need "control rods" to initiate the nuclear reaction like today's reactors. Instead, it just uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that can absorb neutrons. When the reactor's fuel source is finally used up in a few decades, you can just call Toshiba and they'll come and take your reactor away in a truck. Just more proof that nuclear power is our future. Image by AP/Koji Sasahara.

io9: 4-S

Put A Nuclear Reactor In Your Basement