[cturner]

Interesting people come to hacker news. (I'd give another upvote for your username if I could.) What is the essential set of skills/foundation knowledge for a nuclear power plant operator of the sort that you get on a submarine?

What do you think of the submarine systems that were designed for you to interact with? Context - I have been thinking recently about submarines and wondering how crew size could be reduced through automation. (I am aware that a lot of work went into this on the Independence class ships, but my working assumption is that this was let down by poor structuring of the design team, rather than that automation is a fundamentally bad idea)

Did you have to manage boredom when you were on-shift but did not have much to do? Or is there plenty to do? Or are you allowed to study when there is not much in the way of active responsibilities?

[MurMan]

You're right about HN. Experts in all domains.

My experience is from the Vietnam era and doesn't apply today. I was drafted mid-way through an EE program when I got behind in units. Virtually all of us had similar backgrounds. The Navy had a knack for teaching nuclear physics & math to bright people with a high school education.

The S5W plant that I operated had virtually no automation. Just safety interlocks and a few automatic shutdowns. Everything was analog. The electrical controls used mag-amps: dumb and inefficient, but reliable as hell. Safety was achieved by detailed operating procedures and highly trained crews. We studied and drilled constantly. Most over-qualified group of people I've known.

There's no way that I could describe what it was like at sea in a few lines here. It might make for an interesting HN thread as there are other nuc's here. :-)

[tnorthcutt]

I for one would enjoy reading such a thread!

You might enjoy Destin Sandlin's recent series of videos made on board a nuclear submarine: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjHf9jaFs8XWoGULb2HQR...

[yourapostasy]

> The Navy had a knack for teaching nuclear physics & math to bright people with a high school education.

I would very much like to know your take on why the Navy has this knack. I'd like to research what it takes to reproduce that knack by other organizations, in other fields of endeavor.

When you say "bright people", how does an ASVAB VE+AR+MK+MC=252 broadly approximate to percentile?

I'm also curious how the Navy selects for people who can apply that brightness over sustained periods of time.

[MurMan]

> I would very much like to know your take on why the Navy has this knack.

I think the obvious answer is that they have to. The Navy has a lot of technology that needs maintenance at sea. Problem diagnosis requires understanding. We didn't rely on black box replacement.

I had nearly two years of engineering math when I was drafted and joined the Navy. The Navy skipped all of the derivations and went straight to the concepts of limits, derivatives, and integrals. Even some differential equations that describe reactor dynamics. Calculations were limited to algebra. Testing focused on calculus concepts rather than numerical answers.

This produced technicians with the ability to understand how the power plant worked but without the formal math and physics need for power plant design.

The only thing I can offer about how the Navy selects people is that it presents the various training programs early, starting with the recruiters. Certain programs are presented as being most difficult and are described in glowing terms. The challenge was definitely an attraction for me.

[eitland]

> I would very much like to know your take on why the Navy has this knack. I'd like to research what it takes to reproduce that knack by other organizations, in other fields of endeavor.

Maybe most interesting for us in this forum many military schools still includes lots and lots of physical training. I guess that is a huge advantage they have.

Some other points:

- Military organizations do have some options that are out of reach for civilian schools today. Knowing you can risk

- humiliation in front of peers (20 something years ago I once forgot to close the window on our room before service and had to run in to fix it while 36 other guys "enjoyed some extra time for pushups". I still remember it.),

- a permanent record for sleeping or otherwise not paying attention,

- a fine and a night behind bars for not being sober or for not behaving

- or being thrown out

sets a standard.

- Also I guess it also becomes obvious during training that failure to learn the required skills might easily cost you and others their lives.

[cyberlurker]

> The Navy had a knack for teaching nuclear physics & math to bright people with a high school education.

From what I’ve seen, this is still true.

[krisoft]

> I have been thinking recently about submarines and wondering how crew size could be reduced through automation.

I believe the Alfa class submarines went this exact route. According to Sutton it had a crew complement of 32: http://www.hisutton.com/Alfa_Class_Submarine.html

Much more modern plans along similar design thinking is the SHELF reactor. It is designed to operates in an underwater, sealed capsule that is monitored and controlled remotely. Source: https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/smr-status-sep-2012.pdf