Recent content by Unobtanium

Making pure U-233 is very expensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium_fuel_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-233 The difference between science and engineering is price and delivery schedules. That's why.

Thorium is "fertile" not fissile, and needs to be converted to U233 before it can be used, in which process U232 is also produced, in small quantities, but enough to wreak havoc on weapons use as it is a hard gamma emitter, detectable from far away. The premise of Thorium use is in Molten Salt...

Lots of good ideas here. Using W (or some Rh alloy suggested here) as a corium separator could be a possibility, but perhaps also Ultra High Temp Ceramics? If the reactor vessel is breached then the "core catcher" should have both be able to reduce critically and dissipate heat, by separating...