Posted on 05/17/2008 6:10:24 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
During the 1950s, much of the world was quivering with anticipation over the exciting prospects of nuclear power. Atomic energy promised to churn out clean, safe electricity that would be "too cheap to meter." It seemed that there was no energy problem too large or too small for the mighty atom to tackle during the glorious and modern Atomic Age.
It was during this honeymoon with nuclear energy– in 1957– that the Ford Motor Company unveiled the most ambitious project in their history: a concept vehicle which had a sleek futuristic look, emitted no harmful vapors, and offered incredible fuel mileage far beyond that of the most efficient cars ever built. This automobile-of-the-future was called the Ford Nucleon, named for its highly unique design feature… a pint-size atomic fission reactor in the trunk.
Ford's engineers imagined a world in which full-service recharging stations would one day supplant petroleum fuel stations, where depleted reactors could be swapped out for fresh ones lickety-split. The car's reactor setup was essentially the same as a nuclear submarine's, but miniaturized for automobile use. It was designed to use uranium fission to heat a steam generator, rapidly converting stored water into high-pressure steam which could then be used to drive a set of turbines. One steam turbine would provide the torque to propel the car while another would drive an electrical generator. Steam would then be condensed back into water in a cooling loop, and sent back to the steam generator to be reused. Such a closed system would allow the reactor to produce power as long as fissile material remained.
Using this system, designers anticipated that a typical Nucleon would travel about 5,000 miles per charge. Because the powerplant was an interchangeable component, owners would have the freedom to select a reactor configuration based on their personal needs, ranging anywhere from a souped-up uranium guzzler to a low-torque, high-mileage version. William Ford alongside a 3/8 scale Nucleon modelWilliam Ford alongside a 3/8 scale Nucleon modelAnd without the noisy internal combustion and exhaust of conventional cars, the Nucleon would be relatively quiet, emitting little more than a turbine whine.
The vehicle's aerodynamic styling, one-piece windshield, and dual tail fins (which are absent in some photographs) are reminiscent of spacecraft from 1950s-era science fiction, but some aspects of the Nucleon's unique design were more utilitarian. For instance, its passenger area was situated quite close to the front of the chassis, extending beyond the front axle. This arrangement was meant to distance the passengers from the atomic pile in the rear, and to provide maximum axle support to the heavy equipment and its attendant shielding. Another practical design aspect was the addition of air intakes at the leading edge of the roof and at the base of the roof supports, apparently to be used as part of the reactor's cooling system.
Ford's nuclear automobile embodied the naive optimism of the era. Most people were ignorant of the dangers of the atomic contraption, as well as the risk that every minor fender-bender had the potential to become a radioactive disaster. In fact, the Nucleon concept was often received with great enthusiasm. Some sources even claim that the US government sponsored Ford's atomic car research program.
The Nucleon's silent, sleek, and efficient design was poised to secure its place in the American lifestyle of the future. It seemed inevitable that the internal combustion engine would fade into obscurity, becoming a quaint relic of a pre-atomic past. But the Nucleon's design hinged on the assumption that smaller nuclear reactors would soon be developed, as well as lighter shielding materials. When those innovations failed to appear, the project was scrapped due to conspicuous impracticality; the bulky apparatus and heavy lead shielding didn't allow for a safe and efficient car-sized package. Moreover, as the general public became increasingly aware of the dangers of atomic energy and the problem of nuclear waste, the thought of radioactive atomobiles zipping around town lost much of its appeal. Atoms had broken their promise; the honeymoon was over.
The Ford Nucleon sans tail finsThe Ford Nucleon sans tail finsFord never produced a working prototype, nevertheless the Nucleon remains an icon of the Atomic Age. In spite of the Nucleon's flaws, its designers deserve a nod for their slapdash ingenuity. Their reckless optimism demonstrates that one shouldn't consider a task impossible just because nobody has tried it yet– some ideas need to be debunked on their own merit. With today's looming energy crisis and slow migration to alternative fuel sources, we may not have seen the last of the atomic automobile concept. A safe atomic vehicle may not be entirely beyond our reach, as the US Navy has demonstrated with its perfect record of nuclear safety. Perhaps one day fossil fuels will wither under the radioactive glare of the mighty atom, and our highways will hum with the steam turbines of mobile Chernobyls. It could be a real blast.
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Looks like a cross between a ‘59 Caddy, the Batmobile, and an El Camino.
I want one of these. it would be cool to drive a superfund site!
I want an nuclear car too. An electric one I can plug into my local Nuclear power plant.
I think the environs would allow it, as long as you could buy a Hybrid version :)
WHat's the big fly in this ointment?
The size of the radiator (or "condensor" as it would be called) to convert all that steam back into water.
It would have to be about 10 feet wide and 4 feet high, using the best available heat transfer technology, to do the job for even a 150 horsepower engine.
It won't work; that's why we don't have steam cars today.
Anyone remember Mr. Lear?
He was going to do this back in the '70s, he put together a big engineering team - and 2years later quietly gave up when the condensor issue reared its ugly head.
I bought a brand-new air-mobile.
It custom-made, it was a Flight De Ville
With a powerful motor and some hideaway wings,
Push in on the button and you will get a scene.
Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me,
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze.
New Jersey Turnpike in the wee, wee hours,
I was rollin’ slow because of drizzlin’ showers.
Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me,
Then come wavin’ goodbye a little old souped-up jitney.
I put my foot on the gas, and I began to roll,
Moanin’ siren, it was the state patrol,
So I let out my wings and then I blew my horn.
Bye bye New Jersey, I’d become airborne!
Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me,
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze
Flyin’ with my baby last Saturday night,
Not a gray cloud floatin’ in sight,
Big full moon shinin’ up above,
Cuddle up honey, be my love.
Sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen,
I’m gonna name you Maybellene.
Flyin’ on the beam, set on flight control,
Radio tuned to rock and roll.
Two, three hours have passed us by,
Altitude dropped to 505.
Fuel consumption way too fast,
Let’s get on home before we run out of gas.
Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me,
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze.
Chuck Berry, 1957
The Ford Nucleon sans tail fins.
you do realize it is 2008, it could probably be done.
Looks like a cop catcher to me.
How do you get into one of these? I do not see any doors.
Just a couple decades ago an entrepreneur was trying to revive the steam locomotive. Not the old kind, with the giant boiler and the big cylinders and tall driving wheels, but a New Technology one that resembled the diesel locomotives of today.
To make it even remotely competitive with diesels, they would have to have the same closed fluid system you (and the original article author) mentioned.
Even with a full sized locomotive chassis, They didn’t have room for a radiator that could get rid of fifteen megawatts of heat when running in “notch eight.”
It sucks you through the air intakes.
Steam locomotives solved the problem by not having a closed loop. You would still need a closed cycle, but then use an open system to cool it. Stopping occasionally to fill the water tank.
What worries me more is the thought of my neighbor having a 1962 nuclear reactor up on blocks in his front yard.
Diesel locomotives of today consist of a diesel engine running a generator which powers an electric motor. No steam power involved.
Cars like the Nucleon were products of the most optimistic era in American history. In those days, there was nothing we couldn’t do.
Today’s cars are products of the most pessimistic era in American history. These days, we don’t dare do anything to pi$$ off the rabid envirowackos, who are now in charge of Congress.
The reminds me of the Clinton-Gore photo op in the early 90's with the three automakers. They got the automakers together, claiming they were going to co-design the 'supercar'. Still waiting. . .
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