What makes 100 % ???

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by joepole

>In the movie "Red October", the Capt Tupolev ordered the reactor to operate at 105% power. The engineer said "It's possible, but not recommended Captain". I always thought that was funny.

That's referring to 100% of the rated capacity of that particular reactor, not the actual possible power output. It would be like driving 105 MPH on tires rated for 100MPH, only with a nuclear reactor.

Some nuclear power plants in the United States safely run as high as 115% capacity. Most are so old that the safety systems have been vastly upgraded from their original rating.

Yeah I know all that, but it still sounds funny to me. Like putting 105% of the capacity of your gas tank (21 gallons) into your 20 gas tank. LOL, which could actually be 21 gallon but rated for 20 gallons, I know..