CTR Technical Services, Inc.

2007 Newsletter

Is Global Warming Real?

Average global temperatures have been increasing over the past 300 years since the Little Ice Age around 1700 (see Figure 1). The global warming alarmists focus on the slight warming that has taken place over the last 30 years. They conveniently leave out the complete historical record that shows that much higher temperatures occurred 1,000 and 2,500 years ago when there was no man-made energy production. The temperature has varied over a range of 4 deg C during the past 3,000 years.




Figure 1. Mean surface temperature of the Sargaso Sea, derived from isotope ratios of marine organism remains in sediment at the bottom of the sea [from L. D. Kegwin, Science 274:1504-1508, 1996)].

The Theory

The global warming alarmists theorize that earth temperatures have increased due to man-made energy production that release carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Carbon dioxide is a weak greenhouse gas and it is theorized that if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere were to double over the next 100 years, the average earth temperature would increase another one or two degrees C.

The Problem

The problem with this theory is that it does not explain the fact that average earth temperature correlates remarkably well with solar activity as shown in Figure 2 below.




Figure 2. Eleven-year moving average of land based temperature deviations in deg C from the 1951-1970 mean (left axis and dark line) [from P.D. Jones, et. al., Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 75:161-179, 1986] and solar magnetic cycle lengths (right axis and lighter line) [from S. Baliunas and W. Soon, Astrophysical Journal, 450:896-901, 1995]. The shorter the magnetic cycle length, the more active, and hence brighter, the sun.

If solar activity were decreasing and earth's temperature were increasing, then carbon dioxide induced warming would be a reasonable theory. However, there is no evidence that solar activity has decreased over the last 30 years and it is more reasonable to conclude that the warming seen over the last 30 years is completely natural. This is also confirmed by recent evidence of warming on Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto which do not have human populations burning hydrocarbons.

What caused the warming cycles in the periods 1,000 and 2,500 years ago? What caused the cooling cycles? It is logical to conclude that these cycles were caused by fluctuations in the energy emitted by the sun, which mankind can do nothing about.

Energy Rationing is Irrational

Even if a large warming (or cooling for that matter) were to take place over the next 100 years, why is this a concern? With access to cheap, plentiful energy, mankind can live comfortably whether the temperature is too hot or too cold. The problem is not global warming. The problem is a lack of affordable, abundant energy.

The production and use of energy correlates directly with our standard of living. Energy is highly concentrated in hydrocarbons and uranium. When released, this energy replaces the back-breaking toil and low life expectancy suffered by people living before the industrial age.

The higher the use of energy, the higher the standard of living. The global warming alarmists would actually curtail the production and use of energy with a corresponding decrease in the standard of living of all people and would make it even more difficult to adapt to natural climate changes. This makes no sense.

Although nuclear power plants emit no carbon dioxide and this fact can be used as an argument for increased use of nuclear energy to "solve" the global warming problem, there is little scientific evidence that mankind is responsible for climate change. Proponents of clean, safe, environmentally-benign nuclear energy should be careful about using this argument lest they be discredited when it may likely turn out that global warming is not caused by human activity.

Clean, safe nuclear energy should be encouraged, not because it emits no carbon dioxide but because it can improve the standard of living of all people without relying on unstable energy supplies from countries run by dictators.

Advanced Fuel Transport Cask

Korea Nuclear Engineering Services Company (KONES) is designing a novel nuclear fuel storage and transport cask that will be used to transport spent fuel assemblies between reactor sites in Korea. The 18 fuel assembly cask will meet all transport regulatory requirements with minimum size and weight.



CTR Technical Services is responsible for the containment, shielding, and criticality analyses for the cask and has also provided training of KONES personnel in how to perform these tasks.

Core Monitoring Using Gamma Thermometers

An advanced core monitoring system is being developed for future light water reactors. The system will use fixed gamma thermometers (GTs) along with regenerative fission chambers to monitor the power distribution inside the reactor core. The gamma thermometers, which remain in the core, will be used instead of traveling incore probes (TIPs) for steady state power distribution monitoring. The regenerative fission chambers, which are also stationary, respond promptly to power distribution changes and provide input to the reactor protection system to shut down the reactor in the unlikely event that maximum heat rate limits are approached. The gamma thermometers provide power distribution measurements during normal, steady-state operation and these measurements are used to calibrate the fixed regenerative fission chambers since the sensitivity of these devices is difficult to predict.

By replacing the TIP system with fixed gamma thermometers, operating costs associated with the complex movable system are significantly reduced. The gamma thermometers do not deplete and are designed to last at least 8 to 10 years before being replaced.

A gamma thermometer is a solid steel cylinder with an embedded argon chamber where heat transfer is smaller than the rest of the steel tube. When the steel surrounding the argon chamber is heated by gamma rays originating from the fuel, the amount of gamma heating can be measured by measuring the difference in temperature between the argon chamber and the steel tube. This difference in temperature will be proportional to the amount of gamma heating at the argon chamber. Since the gamma heating is proportional to the gamma flux and the gamma flux is proportional to the power in the fuel, the GT signals can be correlated to the power being generated in the fuel. Although the sensitivity of the GTs can drift with time, this drift can be measured by the use of a heater cable inside the steel tube. By artificially adding heat to the GT with the heater cable, the sensitivity of each argon chamber to a change in heating rate can be measured thereby keeping the GT calibrated throughout its 8 to 10 year life.

Rombough Completes 50 Mile Run

On November 3, Charles Rombough, President of CTR Technical Services, completed the Helen Klein 50 mile run near Sacramento, California in a time of 10:17:26. Rombough dedicated the run to his late wife, Karla, who passed away unexpectedly last December.

The finish time qualifies Rombough to apply for next year's Western States 100 mile run, one of the premier events on the ultrarunning circuit.

Quotes

Lead, follow, or get out of the way!

Thomas Paine

The best doctors in the world are Veterinarians. They can't ask their patients what is the matter - they just gotta know.

Will Rogers

Many men fail because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable. If more of us would strike out and attempt the "impossible", we very soon would find the truth of that old saw that nothing is impossible ... Abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish.

C. E. Welch, 1922

I could use a hundred men who don't know there is such a word as impossible.

Henry Ford

The world is a dangerous place to live -- not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

Albert Einstein

Middle age is when your age starts to show around the middle.

Bob Hope

If you live to be 100, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age.

George Burns (1896-1996)

Who We Are

CTR Technical Services was incorporated on May 15, 1987 to provide technical support for the nuclear industry. Since then, we have done work for 34 worldwide organizations (located in 22 states and 4 foreign countries). We specialize in the fields of reactor physics calculations and measurements, reactor core monitoring, shielding evaluations, criticality evaluations, and custom software applications.

The President is Charles Rombough who has over 30 years experience in nuclear analysis and software development. Our associate is Steve Martonak who specializes in mathematical modeling of physical systems and computer programming. We have also teamed with Dale Lancaster of NuclearConsultants.com to expand our expertise into other areas.

CTR Technical Services, Inc.
950 Sugarloaf Road
Manitou Springs, CO 80829

Tele: 800 - 524-9328
Fax: 719 - 685-3579

Email: ctr@ctr-tech.com

List of Clients

ADTECHS Corporation
Alief Alamo Bank
Arizona Public Service Corporation
Arkansas Power & Light Company
Bechtel SAIC Corporation
Beijing Institute of Nuclear Engineering
CP&L Progress Energy
Consumers Power Company
Duke Power Company
E G & G
Environmental Measurements Lab
First Energy Corporation
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power Corporation
Fluor-Daniel Northwest
Framatome ANP
Galaxy Computer Services, Inc.
General Electric Nuclear Energy
Gesellschaft fur Nuklear-Behalter mbH
GPU Nuclear Corporation
Institute for Nuclear Energy Research
Korean Electric Power Research Institute
Korea Nuclear Engineering Services Company
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nuclear Management Company
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Omaha Public Power District
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Scientific Application International
TRW Environmental Safety Systems
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Hanford Company
Yankee Atomic Electric Company

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