经济学人下载:原子能--小型裂变(2)

Vehicles are also moving away from fossil fuels: America expects to have all-electric brigades within the decade.
车辆也正在远离化石燃料：美国预计在十年内将拥有全电动车队。

A report by the army in 2018 said that Holos, a prototype mobile nuclear reactor, would be 62% cheaper than using liquid fuel.
2018年的军方报告称原型移动核反应堆Holos将比使用液体燃料便宜62%。

It is not just American troops experimenting with mobile nuclear power.
不仅仅是美国军队在试验移动核能。

NASA is developing smaller "Kilopower" reactors for space missions, designed to power small lunar outposts.
美国宇航局正在为太空任务开发更小的“Kilopower”反应堆，为小型月球前哨提供动力。

Russia already uses larger floating reactors for its nuclear-powered icebreakers.
罗斯已经在使用更大的浮动反应堆来建造核动力破冰船。

China plans to install similar devices on disputed islands in the South China Sea.
中国计划在中国南海岛屿安置类似装置。

But the planned microreactors would be distinct in several ways.
但是拟定的微反应堆在几个方面有所不同。

They are intended to be assembled in a factory and shipped in one piece,
他们打算在工厂进行组装，并整体运输，

doing away with the need for tricky engineering in remote places.
这样就不需要在偏远地区进行复杂的工程。

They should weigh under 40 tonnes and fit onto the back of an articulated lorry.
它们的重量应在40吨以下，安装在一辆铰接式卡车的后面。

And they are supposed to run themselves, with "minimal monitoring" from afar.
有了远处的“最少限度的监控”，它们应该能够自动运行。

The risks are manageable, say proponents. Designs feature "passive safety" systems,
倡议者表示风险是可控的。设计的特点是“被动安全”系统，

which keep working even if electricity is lost or a component breaks.
即使停电或部件损坏，该系统仍能继续工作。

Cooling pumps can be replaced by natural convection currents, for instance.
例如，冷却泵可以用自然对流代替。

The reactors use "tristructural isotropic particle fuel", in which blobs of fissile uranium
反应堆使用了“三结构各向同性颗粒燃料”，其可裂变铀

(along with oxygen and carbon) are wrapped in layers of carbon and silicon carbide.
（以及氧和碳）的斑点被包裹在碳和碳化硅层中。

The pellets can withstand high temperatures, contain radioactive contamination and limit the impact of accidents.
这些微粒可以耐得住高温、含有放射性污染，并限制事故的影响。

The reactors themselves "would be shielded and protected,
反应堆本身“将被隔离和保护，

and possibly placed in a hole in the ground", says Bill Lee, a nuclear engineer and materials scientist at Bangor University, in Wales.
并可能被放置在战场的一个洞穴中”，威尔士班戈大学的一位核工程师和材料科学家比尔·李说到。

A nuclear meltdown should be "physically impossible", says the Pentagon. The grunts on the ground will be hoping that is right.
国防部表示，核反应堆熔毁“在物理学上是不可能的”。战场上的士兵会希望是这样的。