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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
 Posted - 01/01/2010 : 02:43:53
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This sounds promising...
| After it has been used as fuel for power plants, the element leaves behind minuscule amounts of waste. And that waste needs to be stored for only a few hundred years, not a few hundred thousand like other nuclear byproducts. Because it's so plentiful in nature, it's virtually inexhaustible. It's also one of only a few substances that acts as a thermal breeder, in theory creating enough new fuel as it breaks down to sustain a high-temperature chain reaction indefinitely. And it would be virtually impossible for the byproducts of a thorium reactor to be used by terrorists or anyone else to make nuclear weapons. |
| It's abundant - the US has at least 175,000 tons of the stuff - and doesn't require costly processing. It is also extraordinarily efficient as a nuclear fuel. As it decays in a reactor core, its byproducts produce more neutrons per collision than conventional fuel. |
| Weinberg realized that you could use thorium in an entirely new kind of reactor, one that would have zero risk of meltdown. The design is based on the lab's finding that thorium dissolves in hot liquid fluoride salts. This fission soup is poured into tubes in the core of the reactor, where the nuclear chain reaction - the billiard balls colliding - happens. The system makes the reactor self-regulating: When the soup gets too hot it expands and flows out of the tubes - slowing fission and eliminating the possibility of another Chernobyl. |
There's another site here that has more articles and links.
There's even a blog out.
It sure makes it sound like it's too damned bad that they wanted to go with uranium/plutonium instead, eh?
| Locked in a struggle with a nuclear armed Soviet Union, the US government in the '60s chose to build uranium-fueled reactors - in part because they produce plutonium that can be refined into weapons-grade material. |
And that seems to be why.
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>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
Edited by - the_ignored on 01/01/2010 02:44:52
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2010 : 11:56:42 [Permalink]
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Just read the Wired article on this. AMAZING and very upsetting at the same time.
To think that we could have been using Thorium reactors all this time!
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I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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ThorGoLucky
Snuggle Wolf
USA
1487 Posts |
 Posted - 01/12/2010 : 14:59:54 [Permalink]
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I used to be avid anti-nuke, but I now support at least Generation III+ or later generations of nuclear power. And this Thorium idea sounds even more betterererer.  |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2010 : 17:01:14 [Permalink]
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| I used to be avid anti-nuke, but I now support at least Generation III+ or later generations of nuclear power. And this Thorium idea sounds even more betterererer. |
| To think that we could have been using Thorium reactors all this time! |
I believe that nuclear power in one version or another will be essential to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and solar/wind/biofuel and other emerging technologies.
I sincerely hope that the Thorium approach can be quickly implemented. The reports look promising!
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2010 : 11:41:59 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by bngbuck
[quote]
I sincerely hope that the Thorium approach can be quickly implemented. The reports look promising!
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Yeah....they've looked promising since the mid fifties!
$10,000 to produce 1Gigawatt VS. $60,000,000!
compared to current uranium reactors almost no radioactive waste!
No possibility of a "meltdown"
No need for a "buffer zone"
only requires 2000-3000sq. ft. for a single reactor!
Enough Thorium in just the US to power the entire US for 1000 years!
What the hell are we waiting for?! |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2010 : 14:25:18 [Permalink]
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Astropin.....
| What the hell are we waiting for?! |
All of the Republicans and all of the Blue Dog Democrats to drop fucking dead!
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ThorGoLucky
Snuggle Wolf
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2010 : 09:49:10 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by bngbuck
Astropin.....
| What the hell are we waiting for?! |
All of the Republicans and all of the Blue Dog Democrats to drop fucking dead! |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
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Thorium nuclear reactors?
