Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Amazing Potential of Thorium
RussP.us ^ | Russ P.

Posted on 09/08/2011 9:16:25 PM PDT by RussP

The Amazing Potential of Thorium Imagine a new kind of nuclear power plant that

* cannot melt down * produces less than 1% of the amount of waste that current nuclear power plants produce * is based on proven technology and requires no new scientific breakthroughs * uses an abundant fuel that will last for thousands of years * cannot contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation * can actually burn up existing stockpiles of nuclear waste * is much simpler to build than current nuclear power plants because it operates at low pressure and does not require a huge pressure vessel

(Excerpt) Read more at russp.us ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: energy; nuclear; power; stringtheory; thorazine; thorium
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last
You need to know about this.
1 posted on 09/08/2011 9:16:27 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: RussP
The last thing on earth the Lefties want is cheap energy.

Cheap energy leads to prosperity and people building houses and having babies.

They want to return the earth to a pristine Walden paradise where everybody else has starved to death except them and their families and the people they like.

Global warming was manufactured "science" meant to enable them to throttle all sources of energy.

2 posted on 09/08/2011 9:31:02 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Palin is coming, and the Tea Party is coming with her.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

I agree that the Left has no use for cheap energy. But GW is no argument against nuclear power, of course. In fact, it’s a major argument *for* nuclear power, but I didn’t mention it in my article because enough good arguments are available that no bogus argument is needed.


3 posted on 09/08/2011 9:44:49 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: RussP

Interesting.


4 posted on 09/08/2011 9:49:23 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RussP; wastedyears

I’m gonna bookmark this for myself for one of the links you posted in your article.


5 posted on 09/08/2011 9:52:16 PM PDT by wastedyears (Of course you realize, this means war.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RussP
Are you trying to cause Liberals' heads to explode?
6 posted on 09/08/2011 9:56:48 PM PDT by YHAOS (you betcha!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: YHAOS

No, but now that you mention it ... another source of energy? Not very clean though.


7 posted on 09/08/2011 10:00:05 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: RussP

Interesting—thanks for posting this.


8 posted on 09/08/2011 10:09:43 PM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RussP

The waste situation with Thorium is different than with Uranium/Plutonium. It is definitely not benign (not that U/Pu is) but the byproducts from a Thorium reactor are significantly more radioactive than with U/Pu and they are much heavier in gamma radiation which is lots more hazardous and will eventually irradiate the building in which the reactor operates.

I am a fervent supporter of Thorium reactors in many, many aspects, but the waste issue with Th is potentially quite a bit more technically challenging than with U. At least, as far as I know from what I have read & researched. If I am wrong, that would be terrific news.


9 posted on 09/08/2011 10:27:23 PM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (Madoff screwed the rich. Bernanke screwed us all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Attention Surplus Disorder
[Thorium use]...will eventually irradiate the building in which the reactor operates.

I think you meant to use the word "activate" rather than "irradiate".

10 posted on 09/08/2011 10:36:06 PM PDT by Blado (Audemus jura nostra defendere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Attention Surplus Disorder

I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve never heard about that.


11 posted on 09/08/2011 10:41:55 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: RussP
The Amazing Potential of Thorium

It IS absolutely astonishing, and should be used all over the world. As far as I understand it, it seems to be THE solution everyone's been looking for for nuclear power.

12 posted on 09/08/2011 10:50:28 PM PDT by Talisker (History will show the Illuminati won the ultimate Darwin Award.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Talisker

Yes, I’m trying to alert people to the fact that, if we pursue this aggressively, within a decade or two we could live in a very different world. A better world. Well, at least a lot better than it would be otherwise — since we seem to be going to hell in a handbasket in other ways. Imagine all the implications and ramifications of the US being energy independent!


13 posted on 09/08/2011 10:57:16 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Attention Surplus Disorder
...the byproducts from a Thorium reactor are significantly more radioactive than with U/Pu and they are much heavier in gamma radiation...

The gamma radiation is what makes the waste useless for nuclear bomb fuel refinement, as it's results will apparently still be high enough in gamma to fry the electronics necessary to operate the device.

14 posted on 09/08/2011 11:01:22 PM PDT by Talisker (History will show the Illuminati won the ultimate Darwin Award.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: RussP

“The Amazing Potential of Thorium”

You wont see it until the libtards have nationalized all
energy exploration, production and distribution. As long
as there are liberals in Washington, even zero point energy
will be expensive.


15 posted on 09/08/2011 11:05:06 PM PDT by Slambat (The right to keep and bear arms. Anything one man can carry, drive or pull.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RussP

Great article, Russ. Thanks for writing it, and for posting an excerpt and a link here.

I’ve already re-posted an excerpt on Facebook and sent it to my email list. I really believe that Thorium needs to become a household word.


16 posted on 09/08/2011 11:17:10 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Windflier
....so does Tesla, he's the reason we will never have "energy too cheap to meter", there are all kinds of ways to do energy better & cheaper (free steam for turbines in Iceland , Greenland and anywhere else easily tapping that infinite resource).

Certain folks don't want it to be that way.

17 posted on 09/08/2011 11:23:22 PM PDT by de.rm ('Most people never believe anything you tell them unless it isn't true."-Groucho Marx)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: RussP

I have believed in thorium for a long time and read quite a bit about it. This is an excellent post and I hope people read it and remember it.

Too many people in the energy debate are stuck on stupid. Stupid says nothing will change and new technologies will not come forward soon to change energy. Thorium is incredibly promising and the technology is available today. If we can get the government out of the way or to think outside the box we could revolutionize our energy sources and usage in the U.S. This could provide the economic shot in the arm we need.


18 posted on 09/08/2011 11:45:26 PM PDT by volunbeer (Keep the dope, we'll make the change in 2012!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Windflier

Thanks for passing the word along. I’m just the messenger here, of course. I think the introduction at Thorium Energy Alliance could be punchier, so I decided to take a crack at it.


19 posted on 09/08/2011 11:57:56 PM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: volunbeer

“Too many people in the energy debate are stuck on stupid.”

Ain’t that the truth!


20 posted on 09/09/2011 12:48:12 AM PDT by RussP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson