Development of Tiny Thorium Reactors Could Wean the World Off Oil In Just Five Years - Page 3

AC_Hacker · 11-01-10, 09:19 PM

RT = '"Russia Today"

Isn't Russia the country that brought us Chernobyl?

And as I recall, that disaster, along with being enmired in Afghanistan were the the key events that caused the great unraveling of that empire.

-AC

Xringer · 11-01-10, 10:11 PM

I understand that a lot of people are worried about another disaster, right here in the USA.
Due to hit here in the morning!!

YouTube - Demplosion

Xringer · 10-14-11, 03:20 PM

Here's the new 2011 "LFTR in 5 Minutes"..

LFTR in 5 Minutes - THORIUM REMIX 2011 - YouTube

Xringer · 10-14-11, 05:58 PM

Interesting thing in the video... Geothermal energy is actually 80% nuclear energy..

Geothermal gradient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%).[2] The major heat-producing isotopes in the Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232.[3]

Xringer · 10-25-11, 08:48 PM

The above video is actually pretty long.. But, you find out what the Chinese are going.
They have our designs and are well on their way to having LFTRs on-line in 5-10 years.

I guess it's going to be the Chinese who save the planet..

While us fools waste billions (trillions?) on wind and solar,
the Chinese are going to make all of our little projects obsolete..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/bu...pagewanted=all

"Despite Japan’s crisis, China still plans to build as many as 50 nuclear reactors over the next five years
— more than the rest of the world combined. Most of this next wave will be of more conventional designs."

Wow! 50 reactors! When they get LFTRs working,
their brand new reactors will become obsolete..

philb · 11-03-11, 08:49 PM

I was totally against nuclear anything until my college chemistry professor pointed out that the powers that be will use nuclear whether we like it or not. There may be no choice if we keep our standard of living where it is. He also said if rather small nuclear reactors are built now, they will make smaller mistakes. The USSR made a small mistake in comparison to what would have happened if the reactor was 100 or 1000 times its size.

Thorium reactors seem to be a viable alternative. I have a slow connection, so I didn't get to see the videos, but I have read about them previously.

Another reason thorium reactors are not used is they do not make anything that can be made into bombs. Gosh!...what a let down!

IMHO, I would rather see all the wind and solar resources used to its maximum before another nuke reactor is ever considered.

Xringer · 11-04-11, 07:45 AM

"IMHO, I would rather see all the wind and solar resources used to its maximum before another nuke reactor is ever considered."

A lot of people feel that way. Many feel that way about anything new that would be built near where they live.
Be it a new supermarket, new houses, new landfill, new wind farm, new solar farm, new Toyota dealership & etc.. The list is endless.

Thorium reactors have a downside. It's the name "Nuclear".
After 50 years of misinformation from the 'anti' folks, nuclear power plants
are seen by the general population as extremely dangerous.
You would think that dozens (at least) of Americans had been killed
by nuclear power plants.

For some reason, wind turbines don't seem to last around here.
Plus, if they killed a rare bat, they would all be shut down at night..

But, solar panels could be made to work, if every home and other building
had their roofs covered with panels, we could all have power during sunny days.
At night (and cloudy days) we can burn coal (which does actually kill people).

Every house in town needs to look like this..

But get rid of those trees!!

MN Renovator · 11-04-11, 09:20 AM

Coal is a baseload plant and doesn't ramp up or down in power, most down ramp down at all, even at night. In the Twin Cities, MN area they have converted a coal plant to natural gas in response to the wind farms, natural gas can rapidly change output in relative to coal which cannot. With solar power grid-tie if there was a cloud of overcast or a sunny day followed by a storm cloud, the power generated would swing heavily and there would need to be plants that could ramp up quickly to handle the rapid change in demand.

vmike · 11-04-11, 09:49 AM

The primary problem with the thorium reactor is public fear. A fear which has already been heavily exploited. The US has been burying thorium ore since the 40s, there is an abundance of it on this continent. There were thorium power units designed, built and deployed here in the 60s. These units were designed to provide hot water/steam for building heat, refrigeration/cooling, and electricity. There were also domestic units designed to supply the same for consumer use. Units the size of a 55 gallon drum to be buried in the back yard, made to last 10 years without refueling. Except for some military operations, these all went away in the 70s. I have actually seen a commercial unit in situ in the 70s. The thorium reactor/generator technology is well known here. I believe there was a recent article in one of the trade magazines a year or so back about companies here in the US proposing resurrection to the home thorium power unit.

mike

AC_Hacker · 11-04-11, 11:41 AM

Why isn't anyone doing a DIY Thorium reactor?

I mean, wouldn't it be pretty cool to have one down cellar, and be done with electricity bills?

-AC_Hacker

11-04-11, 09:49 AM	#29
vmike Lurking Renovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Stillwater, OK Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	The primary problem with the thorium reactor is public fear. A fear which has already been heavily exploited. The US has been burying thorium ore since the 40s, there is an abundance of it on this continent. There were thorium power units designed, built and deployed here in the 60s. These units were designed to provide hot water/steam for building heat, refrigeration/cooling, and electricity. There were also domestic units designed to supply the same for consumer use. Units the size of a 55 gallon drum to be buried in the back yard, made to last 10 years without refueling. Except for some military operations, these all went away in the 70s. I have actually seen a commercial unit in situ in the 70s. The thorium reactor/generator technology is well known here. I believe there was a recent article in one of the trade magazines a year or so back about companies here in the US proposing resurrection to the home thorium power unit. mike __________________ I tried to contain myself, but I escaped.

11-04-11, 11:41 AM	#30
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	DIY Thorium Reactor... Why isn't anyone doing a DIY Thorium reactor? I mean, wouldn't it be pretty cool to have one down cellar, and be done with electricity bills? -AC_Hacker __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

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11-01-10, 09:19 PM	#21
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	RT = '"Russia Today" Isn't Russia the country that brought us Chernobyl? And as I recall, that disaster, along with being enmired in Afghanistan were the the key events that caused the great unraveling of that empire. -AC

10-14-11, 05:58 PM	#24
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Interesting thing in the video... Geothermal energy is actually 80% nuclear energy.. Geothermal gradient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%).[2] The major heat-producing isotopes in the Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232.[3]

10-25-11, 08:48 PM	#25
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	The above video is actually pretty long.. But, you find out what the Chinese are going. They have our designs and are well on their way to having LFTRs on-line in 5-10 years. I guess it's going to be the Chinese who save the planet.. While us fools waste billions (trillions?) on wind and solar, the Chinese are going to make all of our little projects obsolete.. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/bu...pagewanted=all "Despite Japan’s crisis, China still plans to build as many as 50 nuclear reactors over the next five years — more than the rest of the world combined. Most of this next wave will be of more conventional designs." Wow! 50 reactors! When they get LFTRs working, their brand new reactors will become obsolete..

11-03-11, 08:49 PM	#26
philb Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 155 Thanks: 58 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	I was totally against nuclear anything until my college chemistry professor pointed out that the powers that be will use nuclear whether we like it or not. There may be no choice if we keep our standard of living where it is. He also said if rather small nuclear reactors are built now, they will make smaller mistakes. The USSR made a small mistake in comparison to what would have happened if the reactor was 100 or 1000 times its size. Thorium reactors seem to be a viable alternative. I have a slow connection, so I didn't get to see the videos, but I have read about them previously. Another reason thorium reactors are not used is they do not make anything that can be made into bombs. Gosh!...what a let down! IMHO, I would rather see all the wind and solar resources used to its maximum before another nuke reactor is ever considered.

11-04-11, 07:45 AM	#27
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	"IMHO, I would rather see all the wind and solar resources used to its maximum before another nuke reactor is ever considered." A lot of people feel that way. Many feel that way about anything new that would be built near where they live. Be it a new supermarket, new houses, new landfill, new wind farm, new solar farm, new Toyota dealership & etc.. The list is endless. Thorium reactors have a downside. It's the name "Nuclear". After 50 years of misinformation from the 'anti' folks, nuclear power plants are seen by the general population as extremely dangerous. You would think that dozens (at least) of Americans had been killed by nuclear power plants. For some reason, wind turbines don't seem to last around here. Plus, if they killed a rare bat, they would all be shut down at night.. But, solar panels could be made to work, if every home and other building had their roofs covered with panels, we could all have power during sunny days. At night (and cloudy days) we can burn coal (which does actually kill people). Every house in town needs to look like this.. But get rid of those trees!!

11-04-11, 09:20 AM	#28
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	Coal is a baseload plant and doesn't ramp up or down in power, most down ramp down at all, even at night. In the Twin Cities, MN area they have converted a coal plant to natural gas in response to the wind farms, natural gas can rapidly change output in relative to coal which cannot. With solar power grid-tie if there was a cloud of overcast or a sunny day followed by a storm cloud, the power generated would swing heavily and there would need to be plants that could ramp up quickly to handle the rapid change in demand.