Thorium powered cars

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IntLibber
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Thorium powered cars

Post by IntLibber »

http://wardsauto.com/ar/thorium_power_car_110811/

U.S. Researcher Preparing Prototype Cars Powered by Heavy-Metal Thorium
By Keith Nuthall
WardsAuto.com, Aug 11, 2011 9:21 AM Email a link to this articleEmail a link to this article Printer-friendly version of this articlePrinter-friendly version of this article

A U.S. company says it is getting closer to putting prototype electric cars on the road that will be powered by the heavy-metal thorium.

Thorium is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive rare-earth element discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. It is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils, where it is about three times more abundant than uranium.

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However, the use of thorium is controversial because, as with uranium, it is used as a nuclear power source. Indeed, the internal heat of the Earth largely is attributed to the presence of thorium and uranium.

The key to the system developed by inventor Charles Stevens, CEO and chairman of Connecticut-based Laser Power Systems, is that when silvery metal thorium is heated by an external source, it becomes so dense its molecules give off considerable heat.

Small blocks of thorium generate heat surges that are configured as a thorium-based laser, Stevens tells Ward’s. These create steam from water within mini-turbines, generating electricity to drive a car.

A 250 MW unit weighing about 500 lbs. (227 kg) would be small and light enough to drop under the hood of a car, he says.

Jim Hedrick, a specialist on industrial minerals – and until last year the U.S. Geological Survey’s senior advisor on rare earths – tells Ward’s the idea is “both plausible and sensible.”

Because thorium is so dense, similar to uranium, it stores considerable potential energy: 1 gm of thorium equals the energy of 7,500 gallons (28,391 L) of gasoline Stevens says. So, using just 8 gm of thorium in a car should mean it would never need refueling.
Thorium has highest melting point of all oxides at 3,182° F.

Stevens’ prototype systems generate electricity within 30 seconds of firing a laser. This can feed power into a car, without the need for storage.

If his technology were to become successful on a commercial scale, one advantage would be that thorium is fairly common throughout the world. However, the distribution of thorium resources is poor because of relatively low-key exploration efforts arising out of insignificant demand.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s estimated thorium reserves in 2010 shows the U.S. leading with 440,900 tons (440,000 t), followed by Australia with 333,690 tons (300,000 t). However, several world organizations conclude India may possess the lion's share of the world's thorium deposits, with estimates ranging from 319,667 to 716,490 tons (290,000-1650,000 t).

Natural thorium has little radioactivity, Stevens says. What isotopes there are could be blocked by aluminum foil, so the power unit’s 3-in. (7.6-cm) thick stainless-steel box should do the trick.

“The issue is having a customized application that is purpose-made,” he says, admitting that developing a portable and usable turbine and generator is proving to be a tougher task than the laser-thorium unit.

“How do you take the laser and put these things together efficiently?” he asks rhetorically. But once that is achieved, “This car will run for a million miles. The car will wear out before the engine. There is no oil, no emissions – nothing.”

Stevens says his company should be able to place a prototype on the road within two years. The firm has 40 employees and operates out of an in-house research workshop.

Giorgio
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Post by Giorgio »

It was some time I was not hearing from them.
If you want to get more insight you can check this:
www.frantechusa.com/img/ECONOMIC_DEVELOPMENT2009.ppt

The physics is of course obscure.
Here is how the CEO describes it:
http://knol.google.com/k/charles-steven ... syvr2c2/13#

Skipjack
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Post by Skipjack »

Ok, to me this sounds like utter nonsense.
They obviously cant even spellcheck their powerpoints. How are we supposed to take them seriously?

DeltaV
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Post by DeltaV »

The phrase "Rear Earth Metals" seems like a good description of their systems engineering process.

Tom Ligon
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Post by Tom Ligon »

Dr. Bussard was not a great speller either, and still used overhead transparencies instead of PowerPoint slides.

Stick with the technical merits. Assuming you can find any. I have not bothered yet but I'd be willing to bet it will be easy work finding flaws. From the statement "when silvery metal thorium is heated by an external source, it becomes so dense its molecules give off considerable heat", I'm inclined to think of the term "so far off it is not even wrong" might apply. That at least applies to the reporter.

Thorium is an underappreciated fission fuel, but it is, after all, a fission fuel. This thing has to make waste. 8 g of thorium may be innocuous enough, but if it is undergoing anything like fission at a rate that can drive a steam engine, the products are unlikely to be friendly. In addition, if thorium is not yet being considered as Special Nuclear Material, if a working thorium reactor comes on line you can bet it will come with regulations.

Giorgio
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Post by Giorgio »

I personally placed them since long time in the same field/level as BLP.
Lot of big talk, no coherent physics, no products and no repeatable experiment.

EricF
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Post by EricF »

If it could power a car that easily and cheaply, why not a home?

AcesHigh
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Post by AcesHigh »

EricF wrote:If it could power a car that easily and cheaply, why not a home?
better yet, why not a spaceship?? A 250 MW unit weighting 227kg?? And all the while, we were smashing our heads thinking on how to power a VASIMIR with a 200MW fusion Polywell!

btw, yesterday I discovered stainless steel can also power cars and spaceships. When the silvery metal (stainless steel) was heated by an external source (my oven), it became so dense its molecules gave off considerable heat. It even burnt my hand!

Of course, the total heat energy of the stainless steel cookware was less than the input energy from my oven, but I dont think we need to enter such level of details in front of a discovery that can change the world.

ladajo
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Post by ladajo »

I am still working on my research into harnessing the unimaginable power of wishful thinking. Peta-googolly Watts for sure, and a component device weighs about 1.5kg and is contained in a volume of about 1.1 cubic meters. Fascinating technology, easy to scale as well. One of the favored configurations is known as the GIFT. In our research circles, we prefer to use GIFT, vice the more formal Good Idea Fairy Train. Less typing.

necoras
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Post by necoras »

I saw this a few days ago too. The "250MW unit weighing 227kg" HAS to be a typo. 250KW might be a bit more plausible with a fission reaction, but I'd be happy if anyone wanted to crunch the numbers and prove that wrong.

Reading more in depth, is this actually saying that adding heat to a system is increasing its density? I'm confused here. Are they claiming nuclear fission or something else entirely?

Torulf2
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Post by Torulf2 »

Where from comes the energy?
Wye is Th not highly explosive if its has so much energy.
Its sounds like nonsense.

Torulf2
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Post by Torulf2 »

"The process of Lasing nuclear fuel such as Thorium is different from fission, as the nucleui does not slit, the process is more like naterial decey excelerated, yet the amount free energy contained remains the same The thorium lasing effect is catilized by Pt and exo-moduelated by other rear earth elements. The final product of the lased thorium process would be lead. This “technology of lasing thorium” would be a safe way to “burn thorium” and reduce nuclear waste problems at the same time. "

Oh its this laser induced decay. It was proposed for destroying nuclear waste. It is nuclear energy. But I think this was debunked. No known process can alter the half life of radioactive decay.

choff
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Post by choff »

Don't they used to use Thorium in Kerosene lantern mantles. Sounds like they could be redesigned to produce steam powered LED illumination.
CHoff

Tom Ligon
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Post by Tom Ligon »

Thoria mantles are great ... I have a couple of Aladdins (kerosene circular wicks with mantles) and they were used on propane and gasoline lanterns. Aladdin discontinued thoria (some production problem with ancient equipment) but they may also be getting more restrictive with thorium, too. The last I heard the new mantles are made with alumnia, and are not as satisfactory.

Thoria (thorium oxide) is a refractory ceramic, capable of standing very high temperatures, and at the same time has electron shells galore, which means it is relatively easy to excite it to emit light using heat. The process is non-nuclear.

choff
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Post by choff »

Maybe Coleman will start marketing mini molten Thorium Floride Salt reactor lanterns, great for heating up the pup tent.
CHoff

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