Thorium-Fueled Automobile Engine Needs Refueling Once a Century

There are now over one billion cars traveling roads around the world directly and indirectly costing trillions of dollars in material resources, time and noxious emissions. Imagine all these cars running cleanly for 100 years on just 8 grams of fuel each.

Thanks to This Page Will Blow Your Mind for making this image.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s the US military built Thorium-Fueled reactors and designed them for aircraft and was very successful. These small nuclear reactors would never go critical and blow up due to the design. Now a new concept car has arrived and has great potential for a fuel source. By the way if you actually study Nuclear Physics there is only 3 to 5 pages that cover thorium reactors due to their size and popularity.

Thorium Concept Car - Image Courtesy www.greenpacks.com

Laser Power Systems (LPS) from Connecticut, USA, is developing a new method of automotive propulsion with one of the most dense materials known in nature: thorium. Because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat. The company has been experimenting with small bits of thorium, creating a laser that heats water, produces steam and powers a mini turbine.
Current models of the engine weigh 500 pounds, easily fitting into the engine area of a conventionally-designed vehicle. According to CEO Charles Stevens, just one gram of the substance yields more energy than 7,396 gallons (28,000 L) of gasoline and 8 grams would power the typical car for a century.

The idea of using thorium is not new. In 2009, Loren Kulesus designed the Cadillac World Thorium Fuel Concept Car. LPS is developing the technology so it can be mass-produced.

Sources:
http://freernrg.com/thorium-fueled-automobile-engine-needs-refueling-once-a-century/

http://www.industrytap.com/thorium-fueled-automobile-engine-needs-refueling-once-a-century/15649