8 Grams Of Thorium To Power A Car For More Than 300,000 Miles
By Vlad Balan
September 5th, 2011
American company Laser Power Systems claims to have found the optimum solution to fuel all existing cars in the world at a much lower cost than petrol. And if you’re expecting this solution to be hydrogen, you’re wrong, it’s a radioactive element, called Thorium. According to the company’s scientists, the 90th element in the periodic table can be a great power source for cars.
Even though the company’s officials didn’t release too much info about the technology, it’s definitely an electric powertrain, with the “conventional” Lithium-ion batteries being replaced by a Thorium-powered source. The heat produced by Thorium will be used to generate steam through a turbine, the pressure produced being used to power a generator producing electricity. At least in theory, the technology is a lot more accessible than the lithium-ion one.
According to the scientist working on this project, even though Thorium is a radioactive material, it’s very safe for both the cars’ passengers and the environment for two reasons: the Thorium quantity required is extremely low and the element only releases Alpha radiations, which cannot penetrate human skin. Apparently, for full protection, all it takes is an aluminum foil wrapped around the Thorium container.
And now, let’s see the numbers part and let us tell you, if this technology really is viable, then we’re looking at an ideal situation. Because it only takes 8 grams of Thorium to power a car for more than 300,000 miles and considering Thorium is as common as lead (the total reserve is estimated at 1.3 billion tons), this means that we could power all the cars in the world for several hundreds years. According to United States Geological Survey, the largest Thorium reserves are found in the United States, Australia and India.
Even though this sounds really breakthrough, Thorium-powered cars is not a new concept, because two years ago, Cadillac has unveiled the World Thorium Fuel Concept, a vehicle powered by a similar technology and the Detroit carmaker was presenting Thorium as the future of world mobility.
Now, there are only two questions left. First one, is this technology really viable? And second and perhaps the most important, after seeing dozens of conspiracy movies, we’re wondering if the multi-billion dollar oil industry will allow this technology to be developed on scale and implemented on working cars anytime soon.
Poster Comment:
I've heard of thorium reactors before. I'll try and dig up a link for that.