Thorium : The Forgotten Nuclear Fuel

Radioactive element is an unstable nucleus spontaneously emits particles and energy in a process known as radioactive decay. Alternatively, it depends on how it might have been used, someone people use it for positive and others for negative

However, thorium does not rely on its radioactivity. In 1818, James Blundell performs the first

Since the initial discovery, this element has been described in terms such as mysterious, extravagant, fascinating, noble, unusual, vital and critical. But I truly believe that humans are far from realizing its true potential and the current industrial and commercial applications are far from what they could be, should we be able to fully understand and harness all of titanium’s properties.

Many researchers used techniques that would be able to answer their questions among the mysterious reason for why there was abundant of creatures that had gone extinct. Overkill has some assumption; humans drove these large-bodied mammal to their extinctions, but a few researcher disagree that just simple human hunting was the predominant factor. Along with abundance of other evidence, overkill specialists mainly cite ethnographic and archaeological data to show that humans were able to hunt megafauna (Waguespack and Surovell, 2003). In addition several models have been used to support the credibility of an overkill skem (Alroy, 1999) Researcher have used optical and thorium-uranium methods to get ages for rocks with large-animal remains (Alroy,

After the World War 2 comes to an end, the US government formed together the Atomic Energy Commission to encourage the exploration of more peaceful alternative usage of nuclear materials instead of focusing on creation of weapons of mass destruction. Now almost several decades later, there has been one hundred and four nuclear reactors and counting built throughout the states that are harnessing a great amount of energy to meet the demand of one-fifth

I have learned that where I lack discipline in editing my papers, I excel in going with the flow of things. Without having to worry about the structure or order of my paper, I ‘am extremely capable of creating a story or paper without rushing myself. I feel as if I’am talking with my hands when type the words down on to this digital piece of paper. My spelling and my function mean nothing because they only hold me back if i choose to let them do so. MY biggest problem was when i work; the fear of breaking the english language rule. Now if i concentrate on just writing the essay or writing the research paper without worry about all the rules, I find myself able to writing hundreds of words in the matter of minutes . Where it use to pain me to write so clearly and thoughtfully, now writing without causation has let me be able to write more fluidly and creatively. As of right now I have

Nuclear fission and just nuclear power in general is a hot topic, with tons and tons of people debating about about whether nuclear power is good or bad. When you discover that nuclear power is not a horrible atomic weapon, you can really see the good in it. Nuclear fission energy is a great alternative energy, because it is efficient and safe in all standards.

Natural Radioactivity some say is a result of a nuclear reaction, which occurs spontaneously. It is the process of Natural Radioactive Decay in which their nucleus breaks apart, undergoing nuclear decay. This happens because the force that usually holds the nucleus together with the protons and neutrons repelling one-another is not able to do its job. So the nucleus breaks apart undergoing nuclear decay. All radiation exists in nature and is found in soil, rocks, water, air and vegetation. The biggest source of Natural Radioactivity is airborne radon, which is inhaled at a dose of 1.26 mSv/a per year. Radon is quite deadly and is the reason over 3,000 deaths every year from lung cancer.

In order to study the radioactivity of thorium, Soddy and Rutherford preformed an experiment in which ammonia was added to a solution of thorium and thorium hydroxide was precipitated out. This observation eventually led to the discovery of the radioactive properties found within the remaining solution. Both scientists then concluded that this was an outcome of a highly radioactive compound known as thorium-X. Using these experimental observations, a series of detailed testing was preformed regarding the radioactive behavior of the precipitate and remaining solution. Over the course of a few weeks, it became evident that radioactive decay is an effect of a variety of chemical reactions occurring inside the atom. Additional evidence that supported

The DBI Chile has planned and proposed 10 MW Thorium demonstration for a 2000 liter/day desalination plant. With nuclear projects such as these, we can create together low cost electricity for countries worldwide, this could give people all over the world electricity unlike some countries that don’t have power 24/7.

Nuclear energy is becoming more and more common each and every day in America. This essay is on uranium/nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is extremely dangerous when not contained properly and it is highly radioactive. The ore most commonly used is called uranium. There are also many pros and cons to nuclear energy.

It is estimated that at today’s rate of consumption, the earth has about fifty years left of fossil fuels. In contrast, due to the very small amount of uranium needed to create a huge amount of energy, the supply of nuclear energy is almost infinite [Jiskha].

It is not until recently that people have become dependent on this element, and not necessarily for the good of it, and the world. There is an obsession with uranium because of its unique properties. Uranium is extremely powerful because of its radioactive properties and unstable nuclei, especially that of Uranium-235. It is able to break down and release high frequency radiation through alpha and beta decay. It is because of these characteristics that Uranium has such a craze on the population of the world (Cox, 1995; Scerri, 2007). The properties of uranium allow people to create powerful plants to produce electricity, and weapons strong enough to destroy the world.

One nuclear power plant with a footprint of one square mile provides the energy equivalent of 20 square miles of solar panels, 1200 windmills, or the entire Hoover Dam. All of this power comes without any greenhouse gas emission although they do produce nuclear waste. Unfortunately most nuclear energy comes at the risk of a potential nuclear meltdown like Chernobyl or Fukushima. While nuclear meltdowns are rare there does exist a potential nuclear fuel that promises even cheaper energy, with no chance of a nuclear meltdown, and significantly less nuclear waste. Thorium is a radioactive element close to uranium on the periodic table, named after the Norse warrior god Thor, which promises large amount of safe nuclear energy. The first thorium reactor was the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) constructed at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in 1964. “In place of the familiar fuel rods of modern nuclear plants, the MSR used liquid fuel—hot fluoride salt containing dissolved fissile material in a solution roughly the viscosity of water at operating temperature” (Hargraves 304). It operated from 1965 until 1969 without issue before it was decommissioned (Hargraves 304). It was determined that uranium used in a Light Water Reactor (LWR) was the quickest easiest way to power a nuclear submarine. Also the waste from the uranium LWR can be used to make bombs. While both of those reasons made sense during the

Thorium has long been the subject of scientific research ever since its discovery, and now it appears that this obscure element may be the energy source which could fuel humanity for generations to come. While thorium has a complicated history, the element remains very important to humanity for many reasons. Discovered about the same time as uranium in the 19th century, thorium has been well known to the scientific community for many years (World Nuclear Association). In fact, famous scientists like Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford worked with the element in several experiments when radioactive decay was first being discovered. Since that time, however, thorium has largely been thrown by the wayside for use in practical applications such as energy production in favor of neighboring elements uranium and plutonium. Things are starting to turn around for thorium though, as people are beginning to realize that thorium power offers cleaner, more powerful, and safer energy than anything humanity has ever known before, and they are beginning to take action to make thorium more widely known as an important prospective energy source.