The Soviet Nuclear-Powered Lighthouses 

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After reading some of the comments, I feel I need to differentiate nuclear power from nuclear batteries, as a nuclear engineer. Nuclear power harnesses heat produced by nuclear fission (splitting atoms in a controlled manner) to heat water into steam to drive large electric turbine generators. Nuclear batteries simply use decay heat from a small amount of a radioactive isotope, like Strontium-90, to heat one end of a thermocouple, inducing a voltage across it. They made for great small power sources in remote, unmanned locations. The Russians also used them for remote Siberian airport runway lights. But in the days of terrorism, the risk of them being stolen and attached to conventional explosives (a "dirty bomb") and promptly dispersing their radiative materials across a small urban area is too great. The chemical properties of Strontium make it seek out bones if ingested (like its relative Calcium) and cause a permanent internal body burden of a highly radioactive source.

In the 1930's the Soviet Government didn't want to subject anyone to that kind of a life. Ha Ha good one Simon.

Global warming?seriously 🤣🤣🤣

“The Soviet government did not want to subject anyone to that life”, … Oh please, that’s not it.

There was a radiological incident involving Soviet RTGs. A few hunters found a couple of incredible canisters that were melting the snow around them and warm to the touch. Naturally, they decided to take them with them; they even slept against them at camp that night. Medically, they did not fare well.

This actually makes a

I think you should articulate your words a bit better, you seem to talk with your mouth closed. Good video tho

Never underestimate people's ability to steal shit, even if it's hundreds of miles from civilization.

Hell yeah! A megaprojects that I have never heard of or even imagined someone doing.....leave it to the Russians lol

Fun fact: the Lighthouses found on the island in the video game "Rust" are closely based on these nuclear lighthouses.

That Aniva lighthouse looks very appealing from a "mystery" point of view, like some kind of ancient unknown structure that would not be out of place in some exploration role playing game featuring ancient mysteries!

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I visited the Aniva lighthouse in Sakhalin this August. Quite a sight!

Plainly Difficult did a video about a group of people who found a stray soviet RTG in some mountains, not knowing what it was, and it being very cold where they were, they used it to stay warm overnight like a campfire as it radiated a lot of heat, only to end up suffering radiation sickness as a result, and the military having to be called in to retrieve the device... :S

The background of nuclear batteries used in pacemakers would be a interesting topic.

RTGs are awesome tech. Love how you incorporated their utility in space exploration.

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators are great!

Lighthouses are so awesome imo, they have such an eiree and creepy but sturdy and defiant atmosphere and I love them. The Aniva lighthouse also just looks so damm cool, like something right out of a fantasy story.

Canada built a RTG powered lighthouse in Brockville Ontario in 1970 utilizing an AECL MAPLE-1B RTG. It operated for 3 years then AECL decided this was not a viable concept.