Some time ago we did articles on the use of Thorium to produce nuclear energy in place of Uranium. As it turns out, recently we’ve received correspondence from readers pertaining to Thorium and so a revisiting of the pros and cons of Thorium reactors seems to be in order. The technical challenges involved in transitioning from Uranium to Thorium are not trivial concerns, but the larger challenge to overcome has nothing to do with technology.
The interesting thing about Thorium reactors is that they can be ‘downsized’ to power homes, ships, factories, and cities. This presents a great advantage over Uranium or massive coal fired power plants. There is some private research underway to even use Thorium energy to power automobiles. Imagine buying a new car with a ten year supply of ‘fuel’ already on board or replacing the gas motor of your car with a Thorium power pack. Factories and cities could have their own power source for heating and electricity, thus creating a more efficient, reliable, and economical power grid.
