By Jeff Smith, Science Editor
There have been recent discussions about thorium as a source of power or for use in weapons systems. I have some experience working with Thorium.
- Too costly to use, over 1 million dollars per kilogram to produce. It can only be artificially made like Plutonium and you cant make enough of it to keep up with demand if commercially used.
- Radiation safety issues. Too hot to use in standard glove boxes. More toxic.
- Used in fast breeder reactors only.
- If U-233 is mixed with U-232 it is unstable. Can go bang.
- Thorium reduces reactor thermal output by up to 30 % so it is to inefficient for commercial thermal power reactor use as compared with a standard uranium fed light water thermal reactor.
- Thorium breads too much U-232/233 causing a toxic waste problem.
- U-233 if is used in a reactor it can undergo a positive K fast neutron reaction so it can go bang like Chernobyl did. So you don’t want to use.
The moral of the story; if it worked better everybody would be using it.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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