Thorium has been a pipe dream for 50 years. Back then, they also envisioned Cars powered by Uranium. The two are so similar that the only difference is access.
Thorium fission offers little significant advantage over uranium unless you have lots of the ore - and one huge disadvantage - the natural element contains no fissile isotope. This is fine if you have access to fissile material from elsewhere. Otherwise, with thorium you have a heavy metal door-stop. Back about 3-4 years, Lewis Larsen & Co got into the thorium transmutation act. Apparently there are some bacteria which can transmute thorium (as well as Uranium) They call it "fissionless" but it is unclear if much energy can be derived. The assumption is that energy can be derived, but AFAIK - they dropped the suggestion as unrealistic. http://www.slideshare.net/lewisglarsen/thoriumseed-lenr-networkfigslattice-e nergydec-7-2010-6177745 If you are looking for good bets - IMO look elsewhere than thorium for energy - at least if you are not in Asia. They like Thorium in India and China because they have lots of the ore, and importantly, they have the fissile material from their A bomb programs - with which to start the reaction (it can also be derived from the waste of uranium fission). but make no mistake, Thorium is almost completely useless without a fissile material. and had Fukushima been thorium fueled, the result could have been worse - not better. From: Blaze <http://www.caradvice.com.au/132921/the-thorium-powered-car-eight-grams-one- million-miles/> http://www.caradvice.com.au/132921/the-thorium-powered-car-eight-grams-one-m illion-miles/ In reply to Harry Veeder's message of Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:08:02 -0700 (PDT): Hi, [snip] > >I found this link on the Cold Fusion Times website. >What powers the laser that heats the thorium? Is this a parody? >Harry > > <http://wardsauto.com/ar/thorium_power_car_110811/%22A> http://wardsauto.com/ar/thorium_power_car_110811/"A U.S. company says it is >getting closer to putting prototype electric cars on the road that will be >powered by the heavy-metal thorium. >Thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive rare-earth element >discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, who named it >after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. It is found in small amounts in most >rocks and soils, where it is about three times more abundant than uranium." In order to get that much energy out of thorium, you have to fission it. Now you could do that with fast particles directly or by first converting it to U233 then fissioning it with slow neutrons. Since a laser is employed, and we know that lasers can be used as particle accelerators, my guess would be that they intend to accelerate protons with the laser and use them to fission the Thorium directly. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk <http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html> http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
