Thorium powered car

[tendril]

I have no idea if the science is sound on this one but it does at least look like a cool car

Linky

 

[Onket]

Do you have to lie down in it, or are the wheels massive?

 

[Crispy]

No, it is not sound. You can not fit a nuclear reactor in a car, nor would you want to put one on a highway.

 

[Fez909]

If this were possible, NASA would have already been powering spaceships with thorium instead of using huge fuel tanks. Imagine how much cheaper it would be to get stuff into space.

 

[Crispy]

If this were possible, NASA would have already been powering spaceships with thorium instead of using huge fuel tanks. Imagine how much cheaper it would be to get stuff into space.

Not necessarily. Rocket engines have very different energy/power/weight requirements than car engines.

 

[Fez909]

Not necessarily. Rocket engines have very different energy/power/weight requirements than car engines.

Different enough to ignore the enormous potential benefits of a portable thorium reactor?

 

[Crispy]

Different enough to ignore the enormous potential benefits of a portable thorium reactor?

Yes. Thorium reactors don't get hot enough. Nuclear rocket engines have been built and fired on the ground, but they run at ~5,000 degrees. Thorium reactors don't get hotter than 500.

EDIT: You could use one in an airplane though. They almost did, back in the 50s.

 

[bi0boy]

Why does a thorium-powered car have too look like that and not like a Kia Sportage or something?

It's just silly.

 

[Crispy]

A safe and long-lasting thorium reactor would need an articulated truck to tow it around.
Or a train. NOW WE'RE TALKING.

 

[gosub]

I remember watching this documentary in the 70's


Nuclear powered road transport doesn't end well

 

[8ball]

A safe and long-lasting thorium reactor would need an articulated truck to tow it around.

Why?

 

[HAL9000]

No, it is not sound. You can not fit a nuclear reactor in a car, nor would you want to put one on a highway.

you can fit a nuclear reactor into a transit van

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JASON_reactor

JASON was a small nuclear reactor used to train submariners at Royal Naval College in Greenwich. I couldn't find any pictures, but I attended a lecture about it, the speaker said it was about the size of dustbin. When it was decommissioned they had big problems trying to get it out of the building due to the radiation levels. I asked how did they get the reactor into the building in the beginning. The speaker said they probably pushed the reactor through a window and at that stage the radiation level was low.

 

[HAL9000]

Jason, page 27 in a blue container


www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TRS446_web.pdf‎

 

[High Voltage]

. . . just one gram of the substance yields more energy than 7,396 gallons (28,000 L) of gasoline and 8 grams would power the typical car for a century.

And if you arranged the 8 grams in a "V" shape - why you'd have the best of both worlds a V8 Thorium powered hot rod - add a Blower, some decent headers and a line lock - BRILLIANT!!

 

[Dr Jon]

A safe and long-lasting thorium reactor would need an articulated truck to tow it around.
Or a train. NOW WE'RE TALKING.

Thorium powered trains...

 

[Crispy]

Jason, page 27 in a blue container


www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TRS446_web.pdf‎

that's just the core. Now add on the turbine, waste handling, fuel processing etc. to make a self contained system that can allow a car to be "powered for a century on a kg of fuel" or whatever. Sorry to be so dismissive, but this really isn't an idea with legs!

 

[HAL9000]

that's just the core. Now add on the turbine, waste handling, fuel processing etc. to make a self contained system that can allow a car to be "powered for a century on a kg of fuel" or whatever. Sorry to be so dismissive, but this really isn't an idea with legs!

Steam is only one method, thermophotovoltaic is another option.

 

[free spirit]

A safe and long-lasting thorium reactor would need an articulated truck to tow it around.
Or a train. NOW WE'RE TALKING.

I reckon we'll see thorium powered cargo ships - well, we should do anyway, they should be possible and should be rolled out within my lifetime I hope, but that'd require some sort of sense to prevail.

eta - this however would appear to be a hoax from the comments on the article