Bizarre Kind of Thorium Fission Discovered ( very weird )

[Tasmodevil44]

I’ve pretty much abandoned the idea of hybrid fission/fusion as a way to assist in helping to kick – start focus fusion. It might work for a hydrogen bomb, but not workable or compatible for focus fusion. However, it has sparked my interest in the chemical element thorium and all the many other various exotic ways a thorium atom can undergo fission. For example, when a thorium nucleus absorbs an alpha particle, it leapfrogs right over the intermediary protactinium transmutation step, and goes directly to unstable U236, undergoing fission immediately thereafter. Thorium can also undergo photofission if it absorbs a gamma ray energetic enough to excite and destabilize it.

Then one day, while surfing the internet, I came across the most bizarre type of thorium fission ever discovered thus far in the history of thorium nuclear physics. The discovery was made by some researchers in Cincinnati, Ohio sometime back around the year of 1997. Normally, nuclear reactions liberate many, many times more energy than any chemical reaction. But this strange kind of thorium fission liberates almost no energy, although it’s a nuclear reaction ! ! ! The combined mass of the daughter atoms of copper and titanium were virtually identical to the mass of the parent nucleus of thorium from which they came. So therefore, mass was conserved and no energy liberated according to Einstein’s formula E=MC2.

For more on this weird kind of fission, check out this website :

http://www.energyscience.org.uk/notes/m9714.htm

Not only do I like to think ” outside-the-box “, but I also enjoy finding out about weird and exotic scientific discoveries made by others …… like this one. Just blows my mind. Quite fascinating, indeed. Well folks, this strange type of thorium fission most definitely will NOT be any help to aid or assist in kick – starting nuclear fusion. Especially when considering the fact that it liberates no energy to heat a plasma. In fact, this bizarre kind of thorium fission is probably absolutely useless for anything except for mere fascinating academic interest only.

[annodomini2]

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[Tasmodevil44]

Hmmm …… you’re absolutely right. Don’t know why. Might want to try entering words like ” unique thorium fission Cincinnati Ohio ” into a google search.

[Tasmodevil44]

Sorry I can’t get the link to work. I don’t know exactly how credible these Cincinnati researchers are or how much peer review to back them up. But it sure is pretty weird and bizarre how it would fission into copper and titanium atoms like that (a nuclear reaction !) without hardly releasing any energy. Quite unique and interesting, indeed.

[Brian H]

From the Energy and Capital newsletter:

Nuclear’s Little-Known Next Step
By Keith Kohl | Monday, July 13th, 2009
It inevitably comes down to scale.

At least, that’s the first issue that comes to mind when my carbon-conscious readers vent their frustrations to me. Believe me, if we were in a position to switch our entire energy consumption to renewable sources, I’d be the first in line to cheer a fossil-free future.

However, we both know that isn’t the case. Please don’t get me wrong, dear reader� I’m not trying to dishearten my green enthusiasts.

But let’s look at the reality of the situation and break down how the U.S. uses its energy:

U.S. Energy Consumption Eac 7-13-09

According to data from the EIA, we’re still relying on fossil fuels for approximately 84% of our energy consumption.

As you can see from their chart on the left, both nuclear and renewable energy consumption hardly make a dent in the overall picture.

If you’re interested in seeing the EIA numbers for yourself, you can find them here.

Be honest, did you really expect to see anything different? The 13 million barrels of oil we import every day aren’t helping matters very much.

Now, the fact is we should be developing every source of energy we can get our hands on. When the cheap oil wells run dry (many, including myself, believe they already have), the world will be forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

But again, I believe the basic problem comes down to scale. That problem is only exacerbated considering there will be an extra 4-5 billion people on the planet by 2050. Depending on which source I look at, the world’s population in 2050 will rise to 10 or even 12 billion people.

Nuclear Revival: One Solution

Today, nuclear energy remains one of the few sources able to provide us with energy on such a massive scale.

Several weeks ago, my Energy and Capital readers saw the potential uranium has. The amount of electricity that can be generated from uranium compared to oil or coal was staggering.

But as you’re probably aware, nuclear energy has a rather large stigma attached to it. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind regarding nuclear energy? Is it the disaster at Chernobyl? Or even the threat of global war, with mushroom clouds billowing into the sky?

Perhaps it’s the current problems in the nuclear industry, like the question of disposal?

Like it or not, people will have to overcome those stigmas eventually because developing nuclear energy (along with every other renewable source) will need to be done.

Then again, there is an alternative. . .

A Thorium Fueled Future

While the Chinese are attempting such stunts as mining the moon for lucrative energy sources, other countries are developing thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel. India, for example, is looking to thorium to help meet their burgeoning energy demands.

Thorium is a naturally occurring metal that not only has the potential to operate much more cleanly than uranium-based power plants, but is also more abundant. There’s nearly 4-5 times more thorium than uranium.

The real kicker is that thorium addresses all of those negative associations that uranium and plutonium have given nuclear energy.

For starters, thorium is not a fissile material like uranium or plutonium, so it can’t be made into an atomic bomb. Furthermore, thorium doesn’t have the same long-term nuclear waste issues uranium does, yet thorium can produce up to 90 times more energy fueling a reactor than its counterparts. (Some have speculated that it’s even greater than that, too!)

Naturally, there’s a catch.

So far, nobody has been able to produce a large, commercial-scale thorium-fueled reactor. And I wouldn’t jump on the thorium bandwagon just yet, either. There are still a lot of obstacles in the way, one of which is that we might be decades away from thorium making an impact.

However, that doesn’t have to stop investors.

Investing in Thorium

Although some people just roll their eyes at a decade-long investment, the rewards could outweigh the wait.

And of the few companies out there developing thorium technology, only one comes to mind. Thorium Power (OTC: THPW) is currently trying to break the lock on thorium development.

Now, clearly, nuclear energy is not a panacea to our impending energy crisis. But once people begin shedding their fears, nuclear power will certainly play a part in the future. And once nuclear energy takes off, the next step will lead down a thorium path.

Until next time,

KEITH KOHL

Keith Kohl

[Tasmodevil44]

Yes, I have already been doing some research and reading – up on Thorium Power, based in Washington, D.C. They are working on fuel rods that can adapt thorium to already existing nuclear plants. There is also the LFTR (liquid flouride thorium reactor) specifically designed for thorium. When research on it was cancelled back in 1974, it was one of the biggest mistakes in nuclear research. Thorium can definitely be a second back – up alternative in the event things like focus fusion don’t pan – out for some reason (although I have pretty high confidence that focus fusion can work).

But as far as any attempt at hybrid fission/fusion in a DPF, I have done ruled – out and discounted the possibility that it might be able to assist pB11 fusion in getting it over the so – called “hump” to help it along. Such hybrid fission/fusion works well in the thermonuclear H – Bomb, but is incompatible with the DPF. But while researching the subject, I found this other bizarre kind of thorium fission to be rather academically interesting, but still impractical and useless.

[Axil]

Tasmodevil44 wrote: Yes, I have already been doing some research and reading – up on Thorium Power, based in Washington, D.C. They are working on fuel rods that can adapt thorium to already existing nuclear plants. There is also the LFTR (liquid flouride thorium reactor) specifically designed for thorium. When research on it was cancelled back in 1974, it was one of the biggest mistakes in nuclear research. Thorium can definitely be a second back – up alternative in the event things like focus fusion don’t pan – out for some reason (although I have pretty high confidence that focus fusion can work).

But as far as any attempt at hybrid fission/fusion in a DPF, I have done ruled – out and discounted the possibility that it might be able to assist pB11 fusion in getting it over the so – called “hump” to help it along. Such hybrid fission/fusion works well in the thermonuclear H – Bomb, but is incompatible with the DPF. But while researching the subject, I found this other bizarre kind of thorium fission to be rather academically interesting, but still impractical and useless.

I think what you have run into is “Low Energy Nuclear Reaction” (LENR). This is a proposed nuclear process that is put forward to explain “Cold Fusion”. In short, under the right conditions LENR says that a hydrogen atom can turn into a neutron.

If this reaction exists, it will be very transformative of nuclear physics and is therefore soundly rejected and feared by the nuclear and high energy physics communities.

However, as you have pointed out, there are many experimental results that confirm that something can transmute all types of elements and their isotopes to other elements; and amazingly, this can be done without any release of neutrons or radiation.

For example, cavitation and/or electric arc discharge in a liquid can transmute nuclear waste into non radioactive isotopes in a short timeframe; hours or days.

A number of patens have already been developed to use this as of yet not understood process to detoxify nuclear waste.

This process could undercut the attractiveness of boron fusion as an energy production process and will therefore be soundly rejected and feared by this focus fusion community; I understand, it is only human.

Remember, that when thorium fissions, it produces about 200 Mev per atom and 800 MeV total per reaction; and when boron fusions, it produces only about 3 Mev per reaction.

Like all hot fusion processes, focus fusion will destroy its “first wall” and structural material in short order from its emissions of both high energy alpha particles and high energy electrons causing material erosion from its plasma. Solid matter cannot withstand fusion over time. In other words, unless the focus fusion reactor is reengineered it will not last very long.

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