Originally posted by charles2,david000k
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Thorium questions?
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Originally posted by jflorey2 View PostNo; you can't "close the cycle" like that. You always need more thorium to drive the cycle.Comment
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Originally posted by charles2,david000k View PostI think sunking beat ya to that one but I get it Thorium is the seed that Plutonium come from.
Thorium itself is not fissionable. You need a "seed" (usually plutonium or U-235) to start transmuting the thorium to U-232. Once you transmute a small amount, then the fission reaction begins, and the neutrons that are a byproduct of that reaction start transmuting the rest of the fertile material.
If that sounds complex, it is - which is why very few thorium reactors have been built. It's a promising technology, but far from the perfect solution that many of its proponents claim.Comment
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