Geeking Out on Thorium

Carl and Richard talk to Donald Larson, a combination technology and nuclear scientist, about power from thorium. The conversation begins with thorium, a low-level radioactive metal that is three times more abundant than uranium and available all over the world, often found as a byproduct of other mining efforts. Don talks about the advantages of the thorium fuel cycle, how it cannot be used to make weapons-grade radioactives and doesn't require expensive pre-processing to be usable for power. From there the topic of molten salt reactors (MSR) is explored. MSRs can use radioactive materials besides thorium and have a number of safety advantages, not the least of which is being able to continuously refuel, have passive safety systems and an ability to utilize radioactive fuel more efficiently. The future of power is thorium!

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