Nick Touran tells the story of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” and author of the legendary "Paper Reactor" memo. We discover how Rickover’s hard-driving management and obsession with practical engineering shaped not just the US nuclear navy, but the entire landscape of modern nuclear power.
Touran is manager of digital engineering at TerraPower and creator of Whatisnuclear.com.
Visit What Is Nuclear?: https://whatisnuclear.com/
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Website: https://www.decouple.media
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:50 Rickover's Early Life and Career
09:38 Rickover's Naval Achievements
17:28 Development of Nuclear Submarines
24:51 Challenges in Nuclear Submarine Development
36:09 Technical Challenges and Innovations
38:06 The Sodium-Cooled Reactor Dilemma
41:37 Comparing U.S. and Soviet Nuclear Submarines
42:59 Rickover's Leadership and Legacy
50:00 The Future of Nuclear Power
54:58 Shippingport and the Rise of PWRs
01:03:33 Rickover's Later Years and Views on Nuclear Power
01:08:07 The Capabilities of Nuclear Submarines
01:10:35 Lessons from Rickover for Modern Nuclear Development
01:12:49 The Importance of Human Factors in Nuclear Projects
01:14:41 Closing Thoughts