FOR the home that has everything, how about a mini nuclear reactor? Small
enough to fit in the basement and needing a top-up with uranium only once every
10 years, it will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions along with worries about
power cuts.
It sounds wonderfully retro—something from the days when researchers
talked confidently of nuclear-powered planes and trains. Yet thanks to some
clever passive safety features, a miniature reactor along these lines is almost
a reality. It is being developed in Japan and could, in theory, provide local
urban power
(see p 4). But perhaps the most remarkable…
