Thorium

"One gram of thorium equals 28,000 liters of petrol. In other words a single filling with a few grams of thorium would be sufficient for the lifetime of the car. Current Cordless Electric cars will become obsolete. The mains are not charged with charging electric vehicles. The leap from thorium-fueled cars to thorium-powered aircraft need not be long. History has many examples of technological leaps can happen faster than the expected."

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"In the early 1800s sent the Norwegian minister Morten Thrane Esmark an ore sample from Brevik funnels to his Swedish friend, Jons Berzelius . He discovered that the ore was an element and gave substance named Thorium after the Norse god Thor in 1829. Thorium was used in lamps , other uses were not . The drug was long regarded as a virtually worthless metal.

After the Second World War, when research in nuclear physics took off , there was great hope that the new energy source uranium could be used for peaceful purposes . It also became clear early on that thorium could be a source of fuel in nuclear power plants , although it was not as radioactive as uranium . Do you get shot into one neutron in the nucleus of thoriumatomet , it initiated a nuclear process that gets thorium to end up as a variation of uranium. This uranium variant has the wonderful property that it produces energy without it being produced long-lasting radioactive waste plutonium.

The waste from a thorium reactor is gathered for 350 years , unlike plutonium waste from a uranium reactor , which must be secured for 100,000 years .

Military history
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton launched in 2001 an international project , the Generation IV International Forum (GIF ) 4 The plan was to build the so-called fourth-generation nuclear power plants would be " foolproof ". There were six types of reactors that were singled out as relevant research projects. One of these is the so-called Molten Salt Reactor , the Molten Salt Reactor English ( MSR ) . 13 countries are included in (GIF ) 4 China , USA, Russia, Canada and France are included. Norway is not . Today, partly as China focus on developing an MSR that runs on thorium.

MSR has a military history . At the beginning of the Cold War was the only aircraft capable of carrying nuclear bombs over long distances. The U.S. Air Force wanted , therefore, a nuclear-powered long-haul aircraft . They had managed to build small nuclear power plants that ran submarines. Could you build nuclear-powered bomber , would fuel the problem , which was a limitation in terms of operational distance, be resolved.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee in the United States started their experiments with MSR 50's . These very promising trials were stopped when the great powers got their ballistic missiles that made the big bombers redundant .

Better than uranium
There are four times more thorium in the land-based nature than uranium. All thorium can be utilized in a reactor as opposed to uranium. Natural uranium consists of two variations of which can be used in a reactor constitute only 0.7 percent of those found in nature. Natural uranium must be through a process of enrichment that increases this percentage to about 5 percent , uranium can be used in a reactor .

We estimate that we have enough uranium to feed the energy needs of the world for 100 years , we will probably have enough thorium for 40,000 years with the same usage as today. A uranium plant on a gigawatt ( one billion watts) produces 44 tons of radioactive waste , one MSR only one ton , which fits in a couple of IKEA bags. The waste from a uranium reactor must be cleaned ( reprocessed ) , as in the controversial Sellafield , before storing it.

Special Features
A MSR reprocess its own waste . A uranium reactor is a gigantic plant with its distinctive cooling towers. An MSR is not larger than a few houses partly because it needs much less , if anything at all , water cooling than a uranium reactor . This makes these molten salt reactors very useful in arid countries and in countries with poorly developed infrastructure. Does not require major transmission networks for electricity , only local developments.


General Motors launched in 2009 the idea of ​​a thorium- powered Cadillac . They will probably not be seen on the roads in the near future , the goal is to implement the vision by 2100.
PHOTO: General Motors
MSR has many special properties, such that there is a pressurized water reactor that can explode , as the reactor at Chernobyl made ​​in 1986. Brine can attain a temperature up to 800 degrees without the pressure in the reactor is more than the normal pressure in the atmosphere . This is because the salt solution has a very high boiling point. An MSR can produce drinking water from seawater at a reasonable price , likewise hydrogen that can be used in the transport sector , important benefits in most developing countries. A series produced MSR cost a tenth of a uranium reactor . Net price in a kW produced in a MSR will be approximately 10 cents.
Thorium and Molten Salt Reactor fits like a glove and there is a growing recognition that this combination meets most needs and goals to reduce the drawbacks of the uranium -powered nuclear plants .

Future Optimism
Acrimony in the scientific research community about the timeframe before an MSR can be ready . Some say 20 years , others five years . Experience shows that 20 years nothing behind when it comes to changing the energy structure. It takes time to build a new infrastructure based on the use of thorium and MSR .

The dream of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is not dead . Minikraftverk in a new issue is a serious project , but this time in combination with laser technology and thorium. General Motors has a vision of cars that go on thorium in 2100 . Inventor Charles Stevens Massachusets his firm works with a laser based thorium generator that can power cars , called Laser Power Systems . The entire system will weigh 250 kilograms and can give from one's 355 horsepower.

One gram of thorium corresponding to 28,000 liters of petrol . Here it is in other words a single filling with a few grams of thorium which is sufficient for the lifetime of the car . Current Cordless Electric cars will become obsolete . The mains are not charged with charging electric vehicles . The leap from thorium -fueled cars to thorium -powered aircraft need not be long . History has many examples of technological leaps can happen faster than the expected.

Great need
Does the world need the huge amount of energy that thorium can provide ? Can we get by with renewable energy? The fossil energy takes sooner or later end , many also claim that the Earth's fossil fuel reserves should remain in the ground soil should avoid overheating. Until the year 2100, world population will increase to 10 billion , and the estimated demand for energy will grow to the firedoblede of today if also developing countries to experience prosperity. It is unimaginable that wind and solar can meet this need , which also IPCC stresses . When renewable energy is not enough, and the consumption of fossil fuels should be minimal , remains either nuclear power or that the world must live with energy shortages for most of the world's population . The latter would be a horror scenario without equal.

Norway is in a unique position when it comes thorium. The thorium priest Morten Thrane Esmark found , originating from a volcanic eruption on the Fen Telemark 580 million years ago . That means thorium years in the ground goes from the surface down through the entire crust . The amount is calculated to be 600,000 tons down to a depth of 600 meters. Norway has probably the world's largest deposit of thorium , and mining down to 600 meters for almost nothing behind . The Norwegian instances need to be processed for use in a reactor .

It does not particularly economically . If using 80,000 euros to process ore to produce one kilogram of thorium , it will increase the price of electricity with negligible 0.8 cents. 600,000 tonnes of thorium can produce more than one hundred times the energy than all the oil and gas in the North Sea. Sold this for money in terms of power supply to the European continent , Norway will forever remain on the green branch."
http://www.aftenposten.no/viten/Thorium-for-fremtiden-7572501.html#.U3tylPl_uSp
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