Thorium Car Concept: This Car Runs For 100 Years Without Refuelling

[Myna]

If your car is powered by thorium, you would never need to refuel your car. The vehicle would be on fire long before the chemical did. The thorium would last so long, in fact, it would probably live longer than you.

That’s why a company called Laser Power Systems has created a concept for a thorium-powered car engine. The element is radioactive, and the team uses bits of it to build a laserbeam that heats water, produces steam, and powers an energy-producing turbine.

Thorium is one of the most dense materials on the planet. A small sample of it packs 20 million times more energy than a similarly-sized sample of coal, making it an ideal energy source.

The thing is, Dr. Charles Stevens, the CEO of Laser Power Systems, told Mashable that thorium engines won’t be in cars anytime soon.

“Cars are not our primary interest,” Stevens said. ”The automakers don’t want to buy them.”

He said too much of the automobile industry is focused on making money off of gas engines, and it will take at least a couple decades for thorium technology to be used enough in other industries that vehicle manufacturers will begin to consider revamping the way they think about engines.

“We’re building this to power the rest of the world,” Stevens said. He believes a thorium turbine about the size of an air conditioning unit could more provide cheap power for whole restaurants, hotels, office buildings, even small towns in areas of the world without electricity. At some point, thorium could power individual homes.

Stevens understands that people may be wary of Thorium because it is radioactive — but any such worry would be unfounded.

“The radiation that we develop off of one of these things can be shielded by a single sheet off of aluminum foil,” Stevens said. ”You will get more radiation from one of those dental X-rays than this.”

Source: http://automobileszone.com/thorium-car-runs-for-100-years-without-refuelling/

[Myna]

Edited April 23, 2014 by Myna

[MidnightDistortions]

Yeah let's not go for any clean energy. This might be good for vehicles if they can make them cheap but i'd rather see an improvement on other renewable energy sources that won't cause half of our planet to be in radiation when something goes wrong.

[dcs18]

Gimme the car with the BroadCaster - keep the Thorium. :smoke:

[geeteam]

Are you kidding ME? Isnt THIS a fiction?

[humble3d]

Are you kidding ME? Isnt THIS a fiction?

NO SIR, THIS COULD BE THE FUTURE...

_http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/a-nuclear-solution-to-smog-1.574035

http://energyfromthorium.com/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoriumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor

:)

A nuclear solution to smog

By Dr Ahmad Ibrahim

Google + 0 comments

NEW TECHNOLOGY: China’s research into thorium energy may help close the era of fossil fuel dominance

EVER visited China lately? A visit to Beijing will definitely leave a poor impression of the air quality there.

Here in Malaysia, we complain about the haze that only appears during certain periods of the year. In Beijing, residents have to put up with even worse haze on practically daily basis.

The Chinese government is long aware of this health threatening air quality situation. But finding solutions is not easy. Why? The country has to develop its economy to deliver social well-being for its people. Energy is always central to economic development. And in China, coal is currently the most cost effective fuel for power generation.

At the same time, with the ever increasing number of cars on China's many highways, pollution arising from the emission of fossil fuel-powered cars is almost unstoppable.

There is no doubt that coal powered electricity generation and fossil fuel-powered cars provide a lethal combination to produce the smog reminiscent of big cities like Los Angeles and London in those early days of air pollution. How does China plan to cope?

It has been reported that China is actively looking at nuclear power as an option. But not just the conventional uranium-based nuclear energy. China is investing in thorium nuclear energy.

Reports have surfaced that scientists in Shanghai have been told to bring early fruition to plans to build the first fully-functioning thorium reactor within ten years, instead of 25 years as originally targeted.

China is not alone in the race to commercialise thorium-based nuclear power. The country faces fierce competition from overseas. Evidently it is not an easy task.

Some have described a situation where researchers are working under "warlike" pressure to deliver. Proponents of thorium power are elated with the vigour shown by China. Some hail the concerted move by China as doing the world a big favour. They may even help to close the era of fossil fuel dominance. The West risks being left behind, still relying on the old uranium reactor technology that was originally designed for US submarines in the 1950s.

What is publicised is that the technology promises to be safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper than uranium. It is also much harder to use in nuclear weapons, and therefore limits the proliferation risk.

There are ample supplies of thorium around the world. Even Malaysia has large deposits of thorium. Some big tonnages are unfortunately already buried, since thorium is also viewed as a hazardous by-product of rare earth metal mining.

It has been reported that China's thorium project has been launched as a high priority. China may have enough thorium to power its electricity needs for "20,000 years".

The project has begun with a start-up budget of US$350 million (RM1.12 billion). They have recruited 140 PhD scientists at the Shanghai Institute of Nuclear and Applied Physics. They plan to have 750 staff by 2015.

According to reports, the Chinese are opting for a molten salt reactor. This was first proposed by the US nuclear doyen Alvin Weinberg. Apparently, it is best adapted for thorium. This in quite different from thorium initiatives in the West which still rely on light water technology used in uranium reactors. One significant advantage of thorium power is that it can be done on a much smaller scale, at atmospheric pressure, without the need for the vast structures common in uranium reactors.

The Americans would have been first. Apparently, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee actually built a molten salt thorium reactor in the 1960s. It was, however, shelved by the Nixon Administration. This was because of the prevailing Cold War, where the Pentagon needed plutonium residue from uranium for nuclear bombs.

The thorium blueprints eventually gathered dust in the archives. A Nasa engineer did publish it, but was largely ignored by the US. China took notice and decided to evaluate the new technology. The rest is history.

The Chinese are building 28 standard reactors. This is by far the biggest nuclear push in the world. This is not only to break away from dependence on imported fuel, but more important also to fight pollution.

- See more at: http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/a-nuclear-solution-to-smog-1.574035#sthash.ptt38EKA.dpuf

A nuclear solution to smog

By Dr Ahmad Ibrahim

15 3 Google +0 0 0 comments

NEW TECHNOLOGY: China’s research into thorium energy may help close the era of fossil fuel dominance

EVER visited China lately? A visit to Beijing will definitely leave a poor impression of the air quality there.

Here in Malaysia, we complain about the haze that only appears during certain periods of the year. In Beijing, residents have to put up with even worse haze on practically daily basis.

The Chinese government is long aware of this health threatening air quality situation. But finding solutions is not easy. Why? The country has to develop its economy to deliver social well-being for its people. Energy is always central to economic development. And in China, coal is currently the most cost effective fuel for power generation.

At the same time, with the ever increasing number of cars on China's many highways, pollution arising from the emission of fossil fuel-powered cars is almost unstoppable.

There is no doubt that coal powered electricity generation and fossil fuel-powered cars provide a lethal combination to produce the smog reminiscent of big cities like Los Angeles and London in those early days of air pollution. How does China plan to cope?

It has been reported that China is actively looking at nuclear power as an option. But not just the conventional uranium-based nuclear energy. China is investing in thorium nuclear energy.

Reports have surfaced that scientists in Shanghai have been told to bring early fruition to plans to build the first fully-functioning thorium reactor within ten years, instead of 25 years as originally targeted.

China is not alone in the race to commercialise thorium-based nuclear power. The country faces fierce competition from overseas. Evidently it is not an easy task.

Some have described a situation where researchers are working under "warlike" pressure to deliver. Proponents of thorium power are elated with the vigour shown by China. Some hail the concerted move by China as doing the world a big favour. They may even help to close the era of fossil fuel dominance. The West risks being left behind, still relying on the old uranium reactor technology that was originally designed for US submarines in the 1950s.

What is publicised is that the technology promises to be safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper than uranium. It is also much harder to use in nuclear weapons, and therefore limits the proliferation risk.

There are ample supplies of thorium around the world. Even Malaysia has large deposits of thorium. Some big tonnages are unfortunately already buried, since thorium is also viewed as a hazardous by-product of rare earth metal mining.

It has been reported that China's thorium project has been launched as a high priority. China may have enough thorium to power its electricity needs for "20,000 years".

The project has begun with a start-up budget of US$350 million (RM1.12 billion). They have recruited 140 PhD scientists at the Shanghai Institute of Nuclear and Applied Physics. They plan to have 750 staff by 2015.

According to reports, the Chinese are opting for a molten salt reactor. This was first proposed by the US nuclear doyen Alvin Weinberg. Apparently, it is best adapted for thorium. This in quite different from thorium initiatives in the West which still rely on light water technology used in uranium reactors. One significant advantage of thorium power is that it can be done on a much smaller scale, at atmospheric pressure, without the need for the vast structures common in uranium reactors.

The Americans would have been first. Apparently, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee actually built a molten salt thorium reactor in the 1960s. It was, however, shelved by the Nixon Administration. This was because of the prevailing Cold War, where the Pentagon needed plutonium residue from uranium for nuclear bombs.

The thorium blueprints eventually gathered dust in the archives. A Nasa engineer did publish it, but was largely ignored by the US. China took notice and decided to evaluate the new technology. The rest is history.

The Chinese are building 28 standard reactors. This is by far the biggest nuclear push in the world. This is not only to break away from dependence on imported fuel, but more important also to fight pollution.

- See more at: http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/a-nuclear-solution-to-smog-1.574035#sthash.ptt38EKA.dpuf

[calguyhunk]

BATMOBILE !!! :D :D :D :party:

... i'd rather see an improvement on other renewable energy sources that won't cause half of our planet to be in radiation when something goes wrong.

Exactly what I was thinking tbh. What we ideally need is maybe to be able to harvest solar/wind energy which will be both clean and safe. Unless we find a way of doing that instead of using hydrocarbons to power vehicles and in lieu of electricity for domestic and industrial power requirements, we will always have to dabble with Eco-unfriendly and/or dangerous "clean" energy.

Edited April 25, 2014 by calguyhunk

[dMog]

right now electric cars are not feasible on the large scale required to make a difference in our collective footprint... can you imagine the draw on existing power grids if everyone plugs in to recharge ...there are massive brown outs now every year because the demand already is bigger than supply......plus are you going to drive that 900 miles on your vacation with an all electric car with the wife and two kids and all your luggage. our demand for electric power grows too much already without the car becoming a major draw

[kn_andre]

From the Look of things, the Big Players are taking this New Technology way more serious that we realise .... Cheers guys and a Lovely weekend to everybody ..

[MidnightDistortions]

BATMOBILE !!! :D :D :D :party:

... i'd rather see an improvement on other renewable energy sources that won't cause half of our planet to be in radiation when something goes wrong.

Exactly what I was thinking tbh. What we ideally need is maybe to be able to harvest solar/wind energy which will be both clean and safe. Unless we find a way of doing that instead of using hydrocarbons to power vehicles and in lieu of electricity for domestic and industrial power requirements, we will always have to dabble with Eco-unfriendly and/or dangerous "clean" energy.

I saw some article on a breakthrough on solar panels being able to store and distribute energy in 100% bio friendly capacity, however it's still being tested but scientists have found a way to store energy in a much better way then batteries.

The major problem with thorium is that when your in a car accident or by natural causes could cause problems. The radiation will leak out and all living things would be exposed to it. So thorium in a car would not work at least with how we perceive cars today. It is more economical then using oil, but it's not much safer. We already have other ways of storing and using energy using clean energy methods, we just really haven't put it all together. Solar only works in daylight, wind only works if there is wind, kinetic and others that i am not very familiar with but exist. There's also the hydrogen car that never took off, you just fill your tank up with water and you got energy to use your car.

There's already some electric cars that are powered by gasoline when the battery runs empty, but that hasn't taken off either. There isn't that much of a huge demand for alternative energies which i think is the biggest obstacle. And even the thorium car concept is still is a myth. It only works if people will use the technology. I had hoped we had made some breakthroughs with car technology but there's still only a few amount of good economical cars out on the road and even to me that's not enough for me to want to get one. I like the car i have, it drives well has good power and speed but the few electric cars i drove was totally different and i didn't like it much. Like i said, the technology is there but we're not using it so more people could be getting into it and doing the best to adapt to it. If i had to trade my car in i'd have to search around for the best economical car, but in the end i don't want some small car that will get annihilated by a crown vic.

Overall, the Thorium car isn't a bad idea but i would like to see some scientific proof that they can build this car well enough that the thorium will not leak due to age, weather, natural disasters, or car accidents.

Edited April 25, 2014 by MidnightDistortions

[kn_andre]

I think it will boil down to the Laws of Demand and Supply ....... If there is a Viable demand for this type of Car, then the manufacturers will Mass Produce it ... But till then, it will just lay low in the Cooler for some time to come ..... Cheers ..,,.