Author Topic: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke  (Read 3131 times)

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Offline thundley4

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  Wired Magazine

Cheap, safe nuclear fuel with almost none of the drawbacks of conventional nuclear power?  What's the catch?
« Last Edit: July 27, 2010, 08:43:36 AM by Thor »

Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2010, 04:03:44 PM »
  Wired Magazine

Cheap, safe nuclear fuel with almost none of the drawbacks of conventional nuclear power?  What's the catch?
It sounds spooky so the greens will never go for it.
According to the Bible, "know" means "yes."

Offline Oceander

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Re: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2010, 04:30:39 PM »
  Wired Magazine

Cheap, safe nuclear fuel with almost none of the drawbacks of conventional nuclear power?  What's the catch?

I'm asking the same question.  Perhaps it's a matter of, shall we say, the energy-density, i.e., perhaps the reactions don't generate useable energy in the same way that, say, burning a gallon of gasoline produces a lot of useable energy.

Offline NHSparky

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Re: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2010, 10:15:19 PM »
Alpha-emitter.  Yeah, nasty shit, that Thorium.  And really not fissionable per se until you get it to U-233 (aka, a thermal fuel) in a breeder process, has a half-life of about 12 BILLION years, and of course reprocessing hasn't been done in this country since the Carter administration.

--The fuel costs to separate the U-233 from the Th-232 are high.
--Impurities in the U-233 result in very high doses due to short-lived high-energy gamma emitters such as Thallium 208.
--Again, recycling issue with Th-228.
--Uranium is still more easily converted into nuclear fuel and still abundant enough to make Thorium impractical.
“Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian.”  -Henry Ford

Offline Oceander

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Re: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2010, 10:39:48 PM »
Alpha-emitter.  Yeah, nasty shit, that Thorium.  And really not fissionable per se until you get it to U-233 (aka, a thermal fuel) in a breeder process, has a half-life of about 12 BILLION years, and of course reprocessing hasn't been done in this country since the Carter administration.

--The fuel costs to separate the U-233 from the Th-232 are high.
--Impurities in the U-233 result in very high doses due to short-lived high-energy gamma emitters such as Thallium 208.
--Again, recycling issue with Th-228.
--Uranium is still more easily converted into nuclear fuel and still abundant enough to make Thorium impractical.

Bingo!  I didn't think it was just another perpetual motion machine somebody had overlooked.

Offline thundley4

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Re: Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2010, 04:24:16 AM »
Gas lantern mantles , like those used in Coleman lanterns and even in the old fashioned gas street lamps used to be made use Thorium.  That's what gave them that nice bright glow.