Nuclear power, the other ways

Recently, a discussion came up on a forum about using a game to raise awareness about different technologies related to nuclear power.

Renewable energy is definitely here to stay, and can solve a lot in the short/medium term. However, for some uses it’s just not enough, and at some time fossil fuel will end, or get too expensive, not even considering the damage it’s doing to the environment: a sort of nuclear power will have to come, sooner or later. As the traditional approach, i.e. fission power plants of different kinds, have shown all their limits, leading most people to the equation nuclear=bad, still fusion power isn’t here as scientist have struggled for decades to get a stable device that can produce net power with cheap fuel.

However, unless you’re a physicist involved in one of the projects (or you’re lucky enough to attend the Google Tech Talks), you’re unlikely to have ever heard more than a few references to fusion experimental devices: the only one that makes it to the public is the old Tokamak device (and its newer sibling ITER), and possibly some laser devices.

There are, however, also other promising approaches that are being experimented: taking them into a game would allow the general public to know more and perhaps appreciate the pro and cons.

After a few posts, the discussion is now turning to a proposal of a simple simulation game, where the player chooses the kind of reactor he wants to develop and drives it to the maximum efficiency.

Now, a good part of a game success depends on its name: that’s why you find today a poll on the sidebar where all the suggestions that came up in the thread have been posted. Please vote the one(s) you like, and, if you’ve something to say about, be my guest!