Why is it desireable or advantageous to power a ballistic missle submarine with nuclear power ?

Question

Is not there a massive risk to the eco-system in the event of destruction from enemy fire?

Answer 1

Nuclear power is the only way a submarine can operate for months at a time submerged and avoid detection. They are the safest subs ever built.

The reactor vessel is made from corrosion resistant steel and the fuel is also clad in a corrosion resistant zirconium. The vessel walls are strong enough to withstand anything but a nuclear explosion or a direct hit by a large armor piercing shell or missile.

Two American nuclear subs have sunk as a result of mechanical failure which resulted in the hulls failing completely. In both cases the reactor vessels have remained intact. Samples taken at each site have revealed no fission products or fissionable material (fuel) contaminating the ocean floor and surrounding waters. I do not know the status of Soviet sub sinking sites.

Ranb

Answer 2

If I am aboard a submarine, and it is destroyed by enemy fire, I am going to be *far* more concerned about my *personal* ecosystem than about the crabs that are soon going to be devouring my body.

Powering the sub with diesel fuel means that you need to stay within snorkle depth of the surface, because you need massive amounts of air, and you need to send your exhaust to the surface. That has an effect on the eco-system, too. It also means you are noisy, and an easy target for the enemy.

Nuclear power doesn't spew garbage into the air. It's no wonder that submariners would rather run silent, run deep, and survive the battle.

I'd like to see the number of nuclear power plants increased about tenfold, because I have asthma and I have to *breathe* the crap that other power plants spew into the air.

Answer 3

^actually conventional fuel subs only runs at the surface to charge the big bank of batteries used to run under water. You don't run any kind of engine in an enclosed space, much less a submarine.

I say the US does it just becuase we can. In the event of destruction from enemy fire, the nuclear risk is that we'd be eating three eyed fish in a few years.

Answer 4

Well, I guess these subs need to be at sea for months, even years on end, so they need a fuel source that won't run out in a hurry. That makes nuclear power the perfect option.

Answer 5

In the event of destruction by enemy fire, we'd be in the middle of WWIII anyway and it wouldn't really much matter.

Doug

Answer 6

Because you don't need to refuel.