[zeestephen]

Re: “no reference to “thorium” in the article”

From the article:

“The IMSR uses normal low-enriched uranium but can also use thorium and other actinide elements as fuel.”

Also, an interesting and well written side link you may not have noticed:

“The Thing About Thorium: Why The Better Nuclear Fuel May Not Get A Chance”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2012/02/16/the-thing-about-thorium-why-the-better-nuclear-fuel-may-not-get-a-chance/

[Wonder Warthog]

The article starts well, but then:

"When Th232 absorbs a neutron it becomes Th233, which is unstable and decays into protactinium-233 and then into U233. That’s the same uranium isotope we use in reactors now as a nuclear fuel, the one that is fissile all on its own."

Which is totally wrong. The fissile material in uranium reactors is U-235, not U-233.