Nuclear Waste

This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-583005***). It was last updated for *U39-490405*. It may contain inaccuracies.
This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-583005***). It was last updated for *U39-490405*. It may contain inaccuracies.

*This article is related to DLC content of Spaced Out.*

## Nuclear Waste

Highly toxic liquid full of radioactive. Formed in a reactor Meltdown.

### Properties

 Liquid, Light Emitter

**Nuclear Waste** is a highly toxic liquid full of radioactive contaminants. It emits radiation, several hundred rads per second. It vaporizes into  Nuclear Fallout at 526.9 °C and solidifies into Solid Nuclear Waste. Unless pressurized up to 1473 kg or greater before freezing, it will fall as debris rather than form a solid tile.

## Production

* Produced by Research Reactor.
* Formed in a reactor meltdown: this is generally a terrible way to get Nuclear Waste.
* Radbolt Engines emit a lot of Nuclear Fallout, which can be trapped and cooled into Nuclear Waste.
	+ The specific heat capacity of this liquid is much, much higher than its gas form; this is a lot of heat addition when the liquid condenses. Be prepared with some means to cool off the liquid when it accumulates.
* Beetas drop 1000 g upon death. A beeta hive produces one beeta larva per day and a beeta lives at most five cycles, so hives are a reliable and fast method of acquiring small volumes of nuclear waste.
* Radbolt projectiles produce 1 g of Nuclear Fallout per radbolt if they collide with a duplicant, critter, airflow tile, or mesh tile.
* Containers containing nuclear waste, such as from mopping a puddle of it, "offgas" additional nuclear waste, resulting in duplication. Done repeatedly, this can result in exponential growth of the waste.

## Usage

### Radiation Generation

Nuclear Waste emits radiation that can be absorbed by Radbolt Generators. However, their radiation output diminishes considerably once the Radioactive Contaminants in them have died off; their efficiency at having the Generators generate Radbolts drops.
Nuclear Waste stored inside a Liquid Reservoir does not give off radiation.

### Coolant Usage

Its massive Specific Heat Capacity of 7.440 (DTU/g)/°C and Thermal Conductivity of 6 (DTU/(m\*s))/°C are second only to  Super Coolant with a temperature range of 500 °C which makes it an exceptionally good coolant. A high SHC means more heat is transferred per Watt consumed when using Thermo Aquatuners, making it an ideal coolant for Research Reactor designs.

### Heat Deletion

Since it vaporizes at 526.9 °C and condensates back into Nuclear Waste at only 66.9 °C, Nuclear Waste can serve as an option for massive heat deletion. Compared to a Steam Turbine there is no power reclaimed from this heat; and compared to  Ethanol it has a much greater heat deletion potential but at much higher temperatures.

Cooling 10 kg of Nuclear Fallout down from 528.9 °C to 64.9 °C equals 1,229.6 kDTU, heating 10 kg of Nuclear Waste up from 64.9 °C to 528.9 °C equals 34,521.6 kDTU, about 28 times more.

## Corrosion Damage

Early game, the storage of Nuclear Waste in containers like Liquid Reservoirs should be discouraged. When placed into a container under normal circumstances, Liquid Nuclear Waste will be ejected after a cycle, spilling its contents in the environment while causing corrosive damage to the container. For this reason, it is suggested to store it in remote open pools.

The liquid also leaks out of devices that handle it, like Liquid Pumps and Thermo Aquatuners. Liquid Pumps won't take corrosion damage while leaking.

### Preventing Leaks

Leaks and corrosion damage can be prevented by submerging the bottom tiles of the container in 1000 kg of any gas or liquid. For example, a Thermo Aquatuner sitting in a pool of more than 1000 kg per tile of Nuclear Waste will not leak or take damage.

### Duplication

The spontaneous ejection behavior of Nuclear Waste from containers doesn't delete the existing waste, resulting in duplication. As of update 494396, the glitch is still around. The amount duplicated per occurrence is about 39.6 grams to 53 grams. Consequently, in order to prevent an over-accumulation of Nuclear Waste, disposal is required for the regulation of the liquid.

## See also

* Solid Nuclear Waste
* Nuclear Fallout
* Resources
* Corium