Saturday, May 2, 2009

How much thorium would it take to power the whole world?

How much thorium would it take to power the whole world?
I have claimed on here that thorium, if efficiently utilized in a MaxFeLaser Turbine power systems, is an energy source of such magnitude that it is not difficult to conceive of an entire planet powered by thorium.

So let me lay out the calculations upon which I base my argument. In a reaction, thorium-232 (having been transmuted to uranium-233) will release roughly 190 MeV of energy per fission reaction. Assuming that the original thorium had a mass of 232 atomic units (u), then that is equivalent to 190 MeV/232 u = 820 keV/u.

How much energy is that? If converted to electricity at 50% efficiency (which can be achieved through the use of a Tesla steam turbine power conversion system), 820 keV/u is equivalent to 11 billion kilowatt-hours per metric ton of thorium. Or 11,000 kilowatt-hours per gram of thorium. (Note that a billion kilowatt-hours [BKWH] is equivalent to a terawatt-hour [TWH].) In other words not much!

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