Which country has thorium nuclear weapons?

Which country has thorium nuclear weapons?

Scientists are excited about an experimental nuclear reactor using thorium as fuel, which is about to begin tests in China. Although this radioactive element has been trialled in reactors before, experts say that China is the first to have a shot at commercializing the technology.

Why is thorium a bad idea?

Irradiated Thorium is more dangerously radioactive in the short term. The Th-U cycle invariably produces some U-232, which decays to Tl-208, which has a 2.6 MeV gamma ray decay mode. Bi-212 also causes problems. These gamma rays are very hard to shield, requiring more expensive spent fuel handling and/or reprocessing.

Is mining thorium safer than uranium?

Thorium is safer and more efficient to mine than uranium, thus making it more environmentally friendly. Conventional reactors utilizes less than one percent of uranium, whereas a well working reprocessing reactor can utilize 99% of its thorium fuel.

Do thorium reactors exist?

There are at least seven types of reactors that can use thorium as a nuclear fuel, five of which have entered into operation at some point. Several were abandoned not for technical reasons but because of a lack of interest or research funding (blame the Cold War again).

Can thorium replace uranium?

Thorium can also be used to breed uranium for use in a breeder reactor. Put very simply, thorium can be used together with conventional uranium-based nuclear power generation, meaning a thriving thorium industry would not necessarily make uranium obsolete.

Are there any thorium reactors?

Proponents also cite the lack of easy weaponization potential as an advantage of thorium, while critics say that development of breeder reactors in general (including thorium reactors, which are breeders by nature) increases proliferation concerns. As of 2019, there are no operational thorium reactors in the world.

What are thorium reactors?

A thorium reactor is a form of nuclear energy, proposed for use as a molten salt reactor. It is fueled by the uranium-233 isotope that is taken from the element thorium.

What is Thorium Energy?

Thorium energy is nuclear energy, using the sligtly radiactive metal Thorium as fuel instead of uranium. Advantages with thorium is that it is more abundant on the earth, it can not produce material for nuclear weapons (plutonium), and the waste is less long lived (no trans-uranium elements).

How many nuclear power plants are in Mississippi?

Mississippi’s main fuel for producing electricity is natural gas, which accounted for about 74% of the state’s net generation in 2019 and fueled 9 of the state’s 10 largest power plants. 55,56 Nuclear power was the second-largest provider of in-state electricity.