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ComputerJockey2017
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Is THORIUM a viable alternative Reactor Fuel? Seems like URANIUM and PLUTONIUM are to easily weaponized.
https://www.gen-4.org/gif/upload/docs/application/pdf/2013-10/gif_egthoriumpaperfinal.pdfhttps://www.gen-4.org/gif/jcms/c_9359/msrComputerJockey2017 said:Is THORIUM a viable alternative Reactor Fuel?
How is this a problem?Unobtanium said: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.
Intense gamma rays make handling the material much more difficult and it makes the activities much easier to detect. Even if you keep humans out of the process it means you have to make everything more radiation tolerant. You also have to worry about the gamma rays producing neutrons and so on.snorkack said:How is this a problem?
U-233 has a small critical mass, comparable to Pu-239. And lower radioactivity.
And lower spontaneous fission rate. An U-233 bomb would actually seem relatively easy to build.
snorkack said:How is this a problem?
U-233 has a small critical mass, comparable to Pu-239. And lower radioactivity.
And lower spontaneous fission rate. An U-233 bomb would actually seem relatively easy to build.
Thorium is not used for reactor fuel rods primarily because it cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction on its own. Unlike uranium, which is commonly used in nuclear reactors, Thorium does not produce enough neutrons to sustain a reaction. However, it can be used as a supplement to uranium in certain types of reactors.
Thorium does have some safety advantages over uranium, such as its higher melting point and lower levels of radioactivity. However, it still produces radioactive waste and has the potential for accidents. Therefore, it is not necessarily a safer alternative but may have some benefits in certain reactor designs.
The main reason for the lack of research and development on Thorium as a fuel source is due to the abundance and already established infrastructure for using uranium. Many countries already have well-developed nuclear energy programs and it would require a significant investment and effort to switch to using Thorium.
Thorium can be used in existing nuclear reactors, but it would require modifications and changes to the reactor design. This is because Thorium has different properties and behaviors compared to uranium, so it would require a different fuel rod design and control mechanisms.
There are a few countries that have experimented with using Thorium as a fuel source, such as India, China, and some European countries. However, no country has fully adopted Thorium as the primary fuel source for their nuclear reactors. More research and development is needed before it can be considered a viable alternative to uranium.