4 ms·
One problem it solves is making reactors that can't produce material for nuclear weapons. That's pretty important if we want to deploy reactors outside the few
by tlb 4y ago
One problem it solves is making reactors that can't produce material for nuclear weapons. That's pretty important if we want to deploy reactors outside the few countries that already have them.
- ncmncm 4y agoI live near Indian Point, recently shut down. They tried thorium back when it was new. It cost too much then. Nukes of any stripe are not competitive now, and get less so every year. Thorium cannot save them. Solutions that rely on a steam turbine generally lose to those that do not. A need to fool with fuel and security cost even more. Account for the disaster insurance subsidy and decommissioning cost, and they come out a marked drag on society. That is, if you manage to complete one before it gets cancelled because renewables are already doing the job more cheaply than it can. We do better not to spend the initial $billions on what will never produce any marketable power. No such money is ever returned. A nuke that runs only at night costs almost twice as much per kWh.