Talk:S8G reactor

MWh is probably the wrong unit
Was looking up the S8G reactor, saw the current text "The 220 MWh S8G reactor", and wondered if "MWh" should be "MW", or possibly "MWth".

Given my understanding of the units and the context, I believe that MWh is not the correct unit here. As follows:

MWh is Megawatt-hours, which is a unit of energy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour). Though a reactor could be rated on its energy output, say over some years between refueling, it would be more usual to list its power rating (as noted here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt#Distinction_between_watts_and_watt-hours)

Whereas, MW (megawatt) is a unit of power (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt#Megawatt) typical for such power plants.

I bring this up because a prior change, w/o explanation and thus reverted, made it MWth: MWth would be megawatt-thermal - the "h" is not "hour" in this case, but rather "th" is short for "thermal". This would be the actual heat output of a power plant, which could be the same as its MW rating, if that's actually how it was rated.

A search outside of Wikipedia found this page, http://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Nuclear/US_Naval_Reactors.htm, which lists the S8G as "Power: 220 MWth or 60,000 SHP". Other than the unit, the size and weight information it provides matches this Wikipedia article.

I also note that the SG6 reactor page uses "MW" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S6G_reactor).

Recommendation: Change "The 220 MWh S8G reactor" to ""The 220 MW S8G reactor".

Mauricef (talk) 20:35, 8 June 2021 (UTC)


 * I see this issue was corrected 3 days after I brought up it on talk page, so all good! (That edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=S8G_reactor&oldid=1027953115)
 * Mauricef (talk) 07:28, 26 June 2021 (UTC)