Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator....?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F…ctrum_Properties_edit.svg

As it would mean in english (from Napoleon lol): "A nice picture worth more than a long talk" (just to point out your mistake about light xD)
As for the topic, I'm thinking we would need Steam with Nuclear Reactors, but for non-RC users, or those that don't want to spend Steel on Turbines, we could make Reactor output steam if water is in, EU if not, with more efficiency for steam, as it's more annoying to deal with Turbines [By the way, what about making Water COOLING DOWN COOLANT CELLS, to make the game more realistic, make coolants cells useful and Nuclear-to-steam even cooler (what a pun xD)], and EU if you're not pumping water in. And if for some reason it's easier to code, then just make 2 differents Reactor.

idea looks good, but one thing to point out: Most RTGs irl use plutonium, and are extremely easy to shield the radiation from, as they mainly emit alpha radiation, which is mostly harmless if it is outside your body (skin blocks it). the same is true for uranium and thorium, as the gamma produced from their decay is minimal. The main reason why coal plants result in such a high effective background radiation (still less than average background) is that the uranium and thorium are dispersed into the air, where they can be breathed in, which is where alpha radiation becomes the most dangerous (maybe second most, after certain specific energies of neutron radiation)

edit: another thing to note: RTGs produce significantly less energy/mass of fuel over their life time than an induced fission system. This is due to the significantly greater change in size of nuclei for the fission over the decay method. Fission systems are also much more energy efficient for the stage after heat production, as they produce enough heat to use conventional steam systems, which are on the order of 30-40% efficient for thermal -> electric, whereas RTGs struggle to get much higher than 10% for thermal -> electric. The primary advantages of RTGs are small size and lack of moving parts, which allow them to be used in places which the larger, conventional plants cannot be used.

Quote from GregoriusT

Are you sure Gamma is Ionizing? I mean, it's pure Energy and not consisting of Electrons or Protons.

everything is ionizing. Some have lower chance to ionize, higher chance to make an atom to split ... this is a bit hard to explain, but, I'd say, Gamma+Alpha+Beta+some rare others are FROM RADIOACTIVITY (and nuclear reactions)
And Greg, you shouldn't tell like that you're not a physician xD. What you said is the same thing as "a ball made of iron can't change how high is water in a bowl because it's not water"
Just look at basic Quantum Physic, and "states of energy".

Xray can cause cancer over time.

Gamma radiation is dangerous as fuck, because its wavelenght is so small, it can actually "swim" trough your cells and alter your DNA. Having cells in your brain suddently wanting to do a different task is not a good thing.

Free radicals are also dangerous, because they are highly interactive particles, so they littrally change what you are made from. Not good either.

Ionizing radiations can split molecules, and charge particles that should be elletrically neutral. Not good either.

In short: Particles and Radiations with high energy = Not good.

Quote from GregoriusT

Are you sure Gamma is Ionizing? I mean, it's pure Energy and not consisting of Electrons or Protons.

Yes it is. A simple googling will thell you that, Gamma, Xray, ALpha and beta are the main ionizing radiations, actually able to split molecules.

Also, this famous logo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radioactive.svg doesnt mean "nuclear". It means ionizing radiation.

Fun fact: You get more radioactivity if you eat a banana a day than if you live within 10 miles of a Nuclear Power plant.

EDIT: FUCK! DOUBLE NINJA'D!

Quote from SirusKing

I Love how the one thing we need the most to live kills us.
Yay for Evolution choosing Oxygen to burn with fuel!!!

"The dose makes the poison."
-Paracelsus, circa 1400 a.c

Fun fact: If there were no Azote in the air, lighting a match would result in the entire Earth setting on fire. Barbecues taken to a whole new level.

Quote from Viper8797

Fun fact: If there were no Azote in the air, lighting a match would result in the entire Earth setting on fire. Barbecues taken to a whole new level.

I don't think so. Because of the lack of C combined with the fact the combustion of carbon isn't "natural", because it needs more energy than 20°C (because temperature =kinetic energy of particles and each reaction need a minimum amount of kinetic (mostly) to ignite.
Fun fact: Game-related forums probably belong to the rares one where you can speak about Science without boring anyone (Ok, almost everyone is bored there, but we're like 3 continuing argueing on it ^^)

Quote from MatLaPatate

I don't think so. Because of the lack of C combined with the fact the combustion of carbon isn't "natural", because it needs more energy than 20°C (because temperature =kinetic energy of particles and each reaction need a minimum amount of kinetic (mostly) to ignite.
Fun fact: Game-related forums probably belong to the rares one where you can speak about Science without boring anyone (Ok, almost everyone is bored there, but we're like 3 continuing argueing on it ^^)

What I meant was that if Earth's atmosphere were 100% Oxygen, lighting a match would suffice to set it all on fire.

Quote from SirusKing

Heck, Lightning makes plasma.
On the subject of Insane amounts of energy, instead of some crazy machine making UU matter, how about a complicated multiblock structure that uses EU to make Electrons, protons and Nuetrons, then combines them into what ever element you want, the Denser the more energy required? (Although it would need some balancing since gold is heavier then iridium >.> ) Much better then crappy UU matter.

Sounds good, tough, as UUM is so developed in IC and given a lot of people already have build the machines, I guess its a No, and i would rather having the devs working on something else (watermills producing energy with flowing water and not with still water for example )

Quote from SirusKing

On the subject of Insane amounts of energy, instead of some crazy machine making UU matter, how about a complicated multiblock structure that uses EU to make Electrons, protons and Nuetrons, then combines them into what ever element you want, the Denser the more energy required? (Although it would need some balancing since gold is heavier then iridium >.> )

Guess what ? According to , it's called ... Fusion Reactor. And as it's in French, let me translate: on left: "linking" energy per Nucleon, and at the bottom: Numbers of Nucleon in the Nucleus (or A)