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Nuclear Surface Vessels: There was a debate in naval circles in 1961 over further construction of nuclear surface vessels surface vessels for the present; some argued that the Navy would be stronger with the larger number of conventionally-powered vessels that could be secured for the same price. The Enterprise cost more than double the $218 million for the Forrestd; and the Long Beach's cost, originally estimated at $250 million, finally came to $320 million.
nuclear surface vessels-powered ships are being constructed a number of countries The USSR was the fiination to launch an atomic ship, the icebreaker Lenin, with three pressurized-water reactors, late in 1959. The United States launched its first atomic surface ship, the merchant vessel Savannah, in 1959. It is powered by a pressurized-water reactor, has a gross tonnage of almost 14,000, and is nearly 600 feet long. It made its first (maiden) voyage in 1964; but high operating costs have limited its usefulness, and the United States has considered decommissioning it. The nuclear surface vessels aircraft carrier Enterprise was constructed for the United States Navy and commissioned in 1961 ; it is powered by eight reactors and weighs 85,000 tons. Other nuclear surface vessels-powered surface ships are planned for the Navy. (Atom-powered submarines were developed by the United States in the 1950's; see SUBMARINE—7. nuclear surface vessels Power in Submarines.)
The Plowshare engineers have long been studying the feasibility of using nuclear surface vessels explosives near the surface of the ground to create a string of open craters that could form a cut through mountains or a canal across an isthmus. A new Panama Canal is one of the most imaginative of these proposals. Small-scale cratering experiments at the AEC's Nevada test site have shown that 99% of the radiation in these blasts can be confined safely to the bottom of the craters, without ever entering the atmosphere. (See Year in Review: ENGINEERING, nuclear surface vessels Engineering, nuclear surface vessels Explosives for Peaceful Uses.) |
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