Ever heard of Thorium? Neither had I till I saw this. Open to discussion - weigh in with your opinions.

No, it's not in production yet as far as I know, but the concept is really cool.



I saw some of the You Tube videos pro and con. Some call BS, others say it's the future. Would this be affordable? Would big oil hate this? Would it decimate an industry that relies on non Thorium based platforms? Go for it, I'd love to hear the opinions - positive or negative.

BTW? Thorium actually does exist.

Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90.
Symbol: Th
Electron configuration: Rn 6d2 7s2
Atomic number: 90
Melting point: 1,755 °C
Discovered: 1828
Electronegativity: 1.3
Atomic mass: 232.03806 ± 0.00002 u

 

The concept of a "nuclear" powered vehicle, whether an airplane or a car, is not new. After WWII, when nuclear power started coming into its own not only as a way to generate electricity but as a way to power navy ships and submarines, other proposals were floated as well. Nuclear-powered aircraft was one of them. But practical considerations in terms of shielding the crew and passengers from the reactor, weight, and what happens to the nuclear material if the plane crashes and potentially released the uranium into the environment ultimately led to the demise of these ideas.

The lady in the video makes another good point, and that is that any nuclear-powered car, whether by uranium, thorium, or anything else, has to overcome the "anti-nuclear" mindset that much of the public has. Would people be comfortable buying and driving every day a "nuclear" car? Hell, half the planet now thinks that, when they heat something in the microwave oven, nuclear processes are at work. Hence the slang term to "nuke" something when it's heated in a microwave. Other misconceptions would certainly come into being as well and would be difficult to erase no matter how much education of the public the industry or government tried to do.

I think the answer to the above question is no. People would be uncomfortable with literally millions of little nuclear reactors running around on the streets of their cities and neighborhoods, regardless of how inherently safe they might be.

Another question is, how cheap and readily available is thorium? Is it another one of those elements we have to get from the Chinese, or can it be mined in North America? A single car may require only 8 grams, but when millions of cars each require 8 grams, the demand still adds up.

 

Hell, _I_ am not comfortable with millions of nuclear reactors running around and I know what they are and what they do.....and, more to the point, who will be wrecking and failing to maintain them.

Maybe if you took Americans from 100 years ago, they might have the education and mechanical know-how to be able to learn to operate such a thing, but the average American today cannot change a tire.

The above thing is obviously an artist rendition who has no idea of what such a car would call for.

 

Simple on line search yields this for Thorium availability: (In my mind, it's a whopping big amount, especially if you only need 8 grams/car? If 1.6 million tons is assumed that works out to 160,000,000,000,000 grams. I believe that's 160 Trillion? - or about 3x the US National debt?) I seriously doubt anyone would run out. And yes, it looks like US and Canada have about 1/3 or better of the world supply. Don't see anything there about your 'offshore' main concern.

AMERICAN ESTIMATES IN TONNES (2010)
United States: 440,000
Australia: 300,000
Brazil: 16,000
Canada: 100,000
India: 290,000 - 650,000
Malaysia: 4,500
South Africa: 35,000
Other Countries: 90,000
World Total: 1,300,000 - 1,660,000


On another quick google search I found this about prices:

If you want the whole article, here's the link: http://www.thorium.tv/en/thorium_cos...rium_costs.php

 

Good points! Yup, that's gotta be a factor given the number of fantastic drivers prowling the streets and xpressways. From what I've read so far, the concept of Thorium isn't anywhere as dangerous as a Three Mile Island, Fukushima Daiichi, or Chernobyl event. I'd be happy if it was contained like flight recorders in an airplane though. Apparently there are no fuel rods that need replacing or cooling. If it's as dangerous as a microwave? I'm in.


Ha ha ha, interesting theory. I think someone from 100 years ago would be terrified of what it is though based strictly on technology of the era. How about someone from the 50's, 60s or 70's though who does understand basics of car maintenance? How would this affect the folks working at repair/maintenance shops?

Everything has to start with a concept. The car in the picture? Cadillac’s World Thorium Fuel Concept. Courtesy Cadillac. I have no idea what design parameters are required for a Thorium fuelled car, but I think that rendition is cool as he11.

 

They could of picked a better back drop for the car...a nuke powered car parked in front of the projects? , must be stolen

 

There's nothing new about thorium. It's a common byproduct of uranium mining ... a waste product they'd say. The only reason anyone ever built a uranium reactor in the first place is to make bomb materiel .... something thorium is useless for. As for supply .... there's enough stockpiled around the planet to last 1000 years without refining even one more gram.

 

Allan, you're right on your points. I get grumpy towards new engineering when it's not been proven out yet.

 

I'm more worried about the known danger of Li-Ion batteries they want to load up electric and hybrid cars with.

 

"1.21 Gigawatts!?! 1.21 Gigawatts!?!"

Sorry, couldn't resist. It's the first thing that came to mind...

 

Yes, but the way I drive, that statement may be true for me any time I roll out of a gas station.

- Eric

 

Nope. Been around longer than you or me. I was merely fishing for opinions about whether this was feasible or not. I need to get on the design tables with my new Thorium Nufission Laser system that can radiate the heck out of a modern fuel tank filled with water instead of gasoline.

So that means you don't own any Li Ion battery operated tools either? There are so many of those sold on the market nowadays I hardly think that's a serious concern. BTW, don't forget to extend the market to large vehicles like buses. BYD has these Li Ion buses past the Beta stages. They have a safe containment system for the batteries; I've seen them in person. They are amazingly silent operation, can accelerate quickly up to 55 mph and will travel about 300 km before needing a recharge. Also equipped with regenerative brakes. Sorry, this is getting off topic.



Gonna have to install a rev and speedo limiter in your beemer, or put the 260 back in your Delta then...and here I thought you were one of the more practical drivers.

 

Can we retrofit this unit into our Oldsmobiles for cruising around?
Then all we would need is a speaker system to make it sound like we were still running gas.

 

Something like this?

 

OMG Eric! I want one!!! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha..I'd plug it into my wife's Saturn and watch her face for a reaction. 50.00 would be money well spent for the reaction.

Where do you find this stuff?

 

This truck was powered by a Thorium Reactor. Quite a mess when it explodes.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/emb...1&vq=480&rel=0

 

Nice try Steve. That was just a dumb transport driver who was carrying flammable gas and not paying attention to the traffic, causing a major collision. The explosions are typical BLEVE's. Nothing to do with Thorium. Sorry.

 

Ah, the BLEVE. Haven't heard that word (acronym) in years.

Short for Boiling Liquid Exploding Vapor Explosion, also short for "Holy @&^#!!!"

- Eric

 

Exactly. Most peeps don't know the potential for this with something as innocuous as their BBQ tank. That's why there are regs for storage/containment and fire fighter safety in assessing those situations.

I used to teach the principles of BLEVE's as part of the Rail Safety Programs (Motorman and Track Maintenance Forces) I developed whilst I still had to occupy an office...Bleves are nothing to take for granted and have killed numerous people and destroyed large areas of commercial and private real estate. The Lac Megantic incident in July of 2013 highlights the importance of isolating rail tank cars away from populated areas and the deadly effects of a Bleve. Somehow it's still not getting through to the legislators and rail companies about how they have a responsibility to protect lives. 47 people lost their lives at Lac Megantic.

 

Gasoline was a dangerous by-product of oil refining until it was found to be just what the Otto cycle piston engine needed.
I guess thorium is at the stage of gasoline 150 years ago.
Current thorium power plants are experimental prototypes, with many shortcomings that will no doubt be rapidly overcome if the idea takes off.
For the concept to become a reality I think it will have to have an acceptable power to weight ratio, if it makes similar power and torque to a gas engine for the same total package weight and doesn't turn out to have unforeseen issues perhaps the reciprocating engine will have had its day.
Nuclear power was fine for ships, power plants and other very large platforms, but didn't make the grade for railroad locomotives, the biggest land transport system in popular use.
Maybe thorium will be ok for rail and big trucks, maybe it will work for passenger cars, I dare say we will see within the next 10-20 years.


Roger.

 

Actually, I don't think I do ... but not for that reason. I've got some Ni-Cad tools, but when I ended up with a perfectly good tool and a battery replacement cost higher than the original purchase cost, I went back to corded tools. I do have a lot of Li-Ion batteries around me, as I work in a computer lab and every laptop built in the last 10 years has come equipped with them. Also smartphones too. And while safety has been improved, they improvements revolve more around preventing and containing failures than eliminating the original problem. I've got a bin full of phone batteries that are seriously bulged. Containment worked, but the cell still failed dangerously. But then, I've got a Canadian Tire car battery that doesn't look much better.

Batteries on buses that undergo strict safety checks and regular scheduled maintenance and inspection is one thing. Putting millions of similar batteries into people's cars ... and we all know how well Joe Q Public looks after his car ... to me, that's a recipe for disaster. Particularly in light of what we're seeing in today's recall stories. One attempt that held particular promise was BetterPlace, that proposed swappable batteries. After each swap, the returned battery would receive an automated inspection ... getting those failing batteries out of the environment before they can do any harm. Sadly, that company didn't last long. Even their website is gone.

Getting back to thorium .... I'd personally rather have that sitting on my workbench than Lithium. Oddly enough, I do. So do most people that have ever tig welded. Thorium doped tungstens are common enough. You do have to take particular care when sharpening them tho. Lithium exposed to air ... not a good thing.

 

Amen to this. I bought my '85 parisienne with the intention of converting it to LP. The carb work is easy ... the fuel tank is where all my hardships come from. Trying to get the DOT so sign off on a tank is murder. A pickup could mount the tank in the bed and have no problems. They want me to dump my gas tank and install their tank in it's place. I want to keep dual fuel as a possibility. I may have to surrender my trunklid to make it happen.

 

Anyone remember this?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...347051#slide-3

Radioactivity for kids.

 

Cold War propaganda and hype. They also were promoting personal bomb shelters at that same time era.

 

Wasn't just then
http://undergroundbombshelter.com/

Gotta admit ... they make some of these things nice enough to make a guy almost want to go Hobbit. Sure beats cleaning the damn gutters every season.

 

Just plain overthinking or over rich to buy that - definitely a different discussion. Anyway, it's not thorium related.

 

... unless you install it with one of these ....http://www.thoriumpowercanada.com/db...ation-reactor/ to power it.