Thorium is a radioactive metal that occurs naturally in soil, water, and rocks. It's also used in nuclear reactors, welding rods, and ceramic glazes.
It's three to four times more abundant than uranium
https://x.com/RT_com/status/1895490719038706022
More than 200 thorium-rich veins in the Beaverhead Mountains form the Lemhi Pass district, Idaho and Montana. This district is thought to contain the largest concentration of thorium resources in the United States and is the site of renewed thorium exploration activity.
Why China Is Building a Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor China’s demo reactor could breed nuclear fuel from rare earth waste
Endless thorium supply in China can help make unlimited nuclear power: Survey
the benefits are true. the msr and sre experiments took place starting in late 1950s and ended in 1969. these two reactors generated a ton of info on thorium reactor design and use. i grew up near the sre in the santa suzanna mountains.
SRE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_Reactor_Experiment
MSR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-salt_reactor
One design utilized boro-silicate glass reaction chambers, very interesting.
Thorium is supposedly abundant in a lot of places. There are allegedly single mines in the US that discard enough to power the entire country. It is a different type of nuclear reactor though. LFTR (lifter) or Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactor was apparently beat out by competing technologies, because it didn’t have the potential for weaponization. I don’t think there are currently any active thorium reactors in any country. Cheap abundant power like that could change the world. (Or galaxy if we could do it in space)
Yes, Russia has them, and one of their models will be delivered to Indonesia.
The Netherlands has for years operated one thorium reactor in Petten. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Molten-salt-irradiation-test-completed-at-Petten
Funny sidenote: it creates medical isotopes ....
The basic regulatory framework in relation to nuclear power generation is based on uranium fed systems, causing two concerns:
O the hole, one could postulate a nuclear triade: uranium -> thorium => nano diamond batteries.
=> the end product of this line is a non-radiative material, and an energy creation supply chain that is sustainable, geen, cost-effective, space-effective, pleasant to the eyes, decentralized, peaceful, limiting melt-down risk.
Which is worse for the world: Current China, with shitloads of coal power plants, or future China, with shitloads of nuclear power plants?
Pick your poison. CCP China is bad for humanity, whichever way you slice that cake.
Since Thorium won't go boom Let's use coal to make steel, for now.
With a half-life of over 14 billion years, that would indeed be quite a find. But it's a much weaker isotope than uranium and costs a LOT more to extract, so I wonder just how much of a "wonder fuel" it could be?
We need to help China see the benefits & other areas of interest. If China plays their cards right, they could corner the Lil Garden Gnome ceramic glaze by number market...
Correct Check Flibe . And molten salt nuclear Reactors. Successful test back in 80ties and banned in 1994 by I did not have sex with that woman