Moontanman Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 Thorium powered car could run for a century with out refueling! Nuclear power car runs on thorium! There are now over one billion cars traveling roads around the world directly and indirectly costing trillions of dollars in material resources, time and noxious emissions. Imagine all these cars running cleanly for 100 years on just 8 grams of fuel each. Laser Power Systems (LPS) from Connecticut, USA, is developing a new method of automotive propulsion with one of the most dense materials known in nature: thorium. Because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat. The company has been experimenting with small bits of thorium, creating a laser that heats water, produces steam and powers a mini turbine.
Unity+ Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 Now only if the United States government would allow nuclear energy as a resource... This would be a great thing for humanity. I think most researchers tried avoiding this kind of form of energy because of the legalities. Now only if Google would complete their computer-driven car...
The Peon Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 Now if only they could make it look less like the car for a man with a very small penis, that would be sweet. 1
John Cuthber Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) Sorry, when did we arrive at the consensus that car crashes are not dangerous enough? Did I miss something? Also things like this "Because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat. The company has been experimenting with small bits of thorium, creating a laser that heats water, " are plainly nonsense Edited November 12, 2013 by John Cuthber
GiantEvil Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 Notice: Laser Power Systems is developing a 250Kw power systems “that is of a size that “could” be put in cars and light trucks” however LPS in NOT working on putting the systems in a car! The car that is pictured on most internet blogs is a 2008 Cadillac concept car (never built) and has nothing to do with LPS. Please get it right or don’t put it up on the web. Thank You LPS Management. http://www.laserpowersystems.com/ Other than (Surprise!) the blogosphere jumping the gun a little and displaying their usual Michio Kakuesque disregard for facts, thorium power seems to be a very legitimate energy technology.
John Cuthber Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 http://www.laserpowersystems.com/ Other than (Surprise!) the blogosphere jumping the gun a little and displaying their usual Michio Kakuesque disregard for facts, thorium power seems to be a very legitimate energy technology. Yes, but the legitimate energy source has nothing to do with that bollocks about lasers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor And, it can't have a lot to do with density (as claimed) because there are plenty of elements denser than thorium- gold is probably the best known. This whole thread is scoring red hot on the BS meter. 1
Moontanman Posted November 12, 2013 Author Posted November 12, 2013 Ok, I agree scratch the "small penis car" but exactly how is thorium used to power a laser with out a nuclear reactor?
GiantEvil Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Yes, but the legitimate energy source has nothing to do with that bollocks about lasers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor And, it can't have a lot to do with density (as claimed) because there are plenty of elements denser than thorium- gold is probably the best known. This whole thread is scoring red hot on the BS meter. Well here's the backup for the part about lasers; http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v106/i16/e162501 I looked up the Atomic weight for thorium, it is 232.0381 The atomic weight for gold is 107.8682 Thorium is in the Actinide series, which are all dense radioactive metals and include uranium and plutonium. So being dense isn't a cause of thoriums properties, but it does correlate. The website I referenced in my last post (currently a 404 error) is certainly pure bollocks, a scam or just cranky. This blog will explain; http://granades.com/2011/09/16/in-which-i-use-scientific-reasoning-to-doubt-the-thorium-powered-car/ While there are thorium reactor designs on paper, and theoretically a thorium laser is possible, these things do not yet exist as prototypes. So my surmise of thoriums legitimacy needs to be down graded to maybe someday.
John Cuthber Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 The atomic weight for gold is 107.8682 What would your second guess be? And who cares? The density isn't the issue.
GiantEvil Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 What would your second guess be? And who cares? The density isn't the issue. Oop, the atomic weight of gold is 196.9655. It was never a guess, tiny print periodic table. You brought up density.
CaptainPanic Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 They probably mean the "Energy density". The amount of energy that you can extract from nuclear material (in terms of useful energy per kilogram of fuel) is more than any conventional (chemical) fuel.
Moontanman Posted November 16, 2013 Author Posted November 16, 2013 (edited) A more realistic take on the Thorium powered car.... Edited November 16, 2013 by Moontanman 1
John Cuthber Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 Oop, the atomic weight of gold is 196.9655. It was never a guess, tiny print periodic table. You brought up density. No I didn't. The OP did that by saying "Because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat." which is nonsense.
arc Posted November 18, 2013 Posted November 18, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_propulsion In 1958 there were at least four theoretical nuclear-powered concept cars proposed, the American Ford Nucleon and Studebaker Packard Astral, as well as the French Simca Fulgur designed by Robert Opron and the Arbel Symetric. Apart from these concept models, none were built and no automotive nuclear power plants ever made. Chrysler engineer C R Lewis had discounted the idea in 1957 because of estimates that an 80,000 lb (36,000 kg) engine would be required by a 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) car. His view was that an efficient means of storing energy was required for nuclear power to be practical.Despite this, Chrysler's stylists in 1958 drew up some possible designs. In 1959 it was reported that Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company had developed a new rubber compound that was light and absorbed radiation, obviating the need for heavy shielding. A reporter at the time considered it might make nuclear-powered cars and aircraft a possibility. Ford made another potentially nuclear-powered model in 1962 for the Seattle World's Fair, the Ford Seattle-ite XXI. This also never went beyond the initial concept. In 2009, for the hundredth anniversary of General Motors' acquisition of Cadillac, Loren Kulesus created concept art depicting a car powered by thorium. The more things change the more they stay the same.
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