Is Thorium Our Energy Future? | Answers With Joe

answerswithjoe (67) in steemstem • 6 years ago

With the need for cleaner energy higher than ever before, could liquid fluoride thorium reactors be the solution?

steemstem cleanenergy renewable thorium reactors

6 years ago by answerswithjoe (67)

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geekpowered (69) · 6 years ago

This is pretty cool. I hadn't heard about this before. The only use I have really heard about molten salt reactors for is solar.

In that case they use mirrors to liquify salt so it can be used for a more consistant power source during night time and clouds.

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ajayyy (65) · 6 years ago

So does the salt act as a battery for the solar power? Sounds very cool, I wonder if it uses less space then something like a water tower.

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2 votes

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geekpowered (69) · 6 years ago

Yep, that's exactly right.

The only one that I saw in use was about the size of a grain tower, but I imagine you could use pretty much any size.

I know there was an electric car out quite a few years ago that used a molten-salt battery. This was of course before lithium batteries became quite as good as they are today. Dunno what they were thinking, as you would have to ensure you charged it every night before use the following day. Maybe they would be alright for something like a whole house battery backup though.

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3 votes

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ajayyy (65) · 6 years ago

Yea, it sounds very interesting. Lithium Ion batteries are good for small storage, but they get really expensive and heavy when storing large amounts of energy.

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answerswithjoe (67) · 6 years ago

I just read a headline today saying that birds flying through those concentrated solar systems were getting fried. I'm sure people will start using that as a reason not to do it (they say that about wind power too).

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1 vote

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geekpowered (69) · 6 years ago

I'm sure it's an issue if the system isn't designed to prevent it.

There was a building in Las Vegas I believe that was accidentally designed in such a way that it magnified sunlight and directed it at a place where people sat during the day. Not exactly a great headline if you accidentally cook some patrons alive. Thankfully it was caught before anyone was seriously injured.

It just happened to be a curved surface on a shiny building that at a certain time of the day reflected right on customers.

Similarly, a bottle catching the light just right can start a fire.

The sun is a powerful thing. If you're going to harness it in such a way to heat stuff up to an extreme degree, you have to be very careful...or you'll accidentally roast some chicken...or duck...or seagull...

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