Thomas Eiden — Atomic Alchemy and Radioisotope Production

In this conversation, we talk with Thomas Eiden, the founder of Atomic Alchemy who studied and researched nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Thomas is the expert of all things nuclear, so he gave us an awesome primer on the future of energy, nuclear space and the exciting future that might lie ahead with the clean and abundant nuclear energy.

Chapters

00:00 Introducing Thomas Eiden and Atomic Alchemy
00:36 Making future technology tangible
02:41 Telling technical stories to the public
06:24 Technology and unintended consequences
09:03 Nuclear optimism and public perception
11:30 A renaissance beyond the hype
13:08 Hands-on nuclear education
16:09 Learning through demonstrations
18:32 Radioisotopes beyond power generation
19:40 Medical applications and research
22:10 Radioisotope power in space
23:24 Remote applications and material supply
24:30 Industrial imaging and quality assurance
25:28 Why these applications matter
28:30 Nuclear energy and climate politics
30:58 Licensing costs and regulatory incentives
36:49 Supply chains and industry challenges
40:29 New designs and a path forward
42:10 Milestones before publicity
44:13 Where to find Thomas and Atomic Alchemy

Links

• Thomas Eiden — biography
• Atomic Alchemy — original company link, now redirects to Oklo
• Oklo — current isotopes business

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Build the Future Podcast. This is a project by World's Fair Co. You can learn more at worldsfair.org.