I have read some articles about Thorium-powered cars like a small quantity of Thorium will be able to power a car for many, many miles, and one needs to refuel cars once in a while only. I like to know the status of research on this, and also the safety issues in using Thorium-powered cars as commercial vehicles. Thanks - Sundar
I don´t have a serious idea to use thorium for car drive. The only technique I could imagine would be a radio nuclide battery, but I don´t know one constructed using thorium. And as a fuel for normal cars radioactive materials are strictly forbidden. Just image the situation after an accident.
No!
From time to time there appear in the market advertisements about new consumer products. Recently, stories have appeared about the feasibility of the Thorium Powered Cars. Thorium is an interesting nuclear fuel, but it iss not magic. It still has many of the inherent problems of all other.
The concept for the thorium-powered car is introduced by Laser Power Systems, who claim to take the radioactive element and use it to generate a laser beam that in turn heats water, producing steam and powering the vehicle’s engine.
For more details you may refer to the following link
http://www.theautofuture.com/2014/08/12/thorium-powered-car/
Thanks dear Mahfuz,
for the reference and the explanation. But no change of my first pessimistic comment on"radioactivity" in a common vehicle.
Dear Roland,
I followed your URL and the cited literature. It´s handling "fuel" reactors, like my suspicion was. The problem will stay, how to ensure the low risk probability during use and after disposal or accidents. And if you need heating to produce laser to produce heat to convert to movement you have the old problem of efficiency.
This is based on the MaxFe Laser, allegedly developed in 1985. There is no evidence that such a device exists. Someone would be glad to take your money as an investment.
What would I do with a car that will run for 100 years. I might like next years model that runs for 200 years.
Thorium can be used in nuclear reactors. However it needs uranium or an accelerator to get fission. Electricity of these reactors can be used to fuel electric cars. Nuclear reactors in cars are not possible due to the shielding requirement of the radion of fission
Friends - kindly share any latest News on Thorium powered cars.. Thanks!
https://www.motor1.com/news/72301/atomic-car-revisited-thorium-could-power-a-vehicle-for-100-years/
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