Considering Thorium as an Alternative Fuel for Nuclear Energy
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PARIS — For decades, scientists have dreamed about turning thorium — an element that is less radioactive and produces less nuclear waste than uranium — into an alternative fuel for nuclear energy. Recent technological developments may be bringing the dream closer to reality. As a naturally occurring metal that is substantially more abundant than uranium, its most common isotopic form, thorium-232, can be converted by irradiation to uranium-233, which is suitable for use in nuclear fuels. The United States is estimated to have 400,000 tons of thorium, Turkey 344,000 tons and India 319,000 tons, according to a 2008 joint report...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Cleaner Nukes
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January 29th, 2009 To the Congress of the United States As a citizen of this great country, I am writing to express to those who serve as Representatives and Senators in the 111th Congress of the United States, my concerns with supplemental appropriations bill H.R.1, which has passed the House of Representatives.
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Purdue Reprimands Fusion Scientist for Misconduct
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The Purdue panel said Rusi Taleyarkhan misled the scientific community by claiming his "bubble fusion" findings had been independently replicated.
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Bush says no magic wand to lower fuel prices
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U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday there was no "magic wand" to bring down record-high fuel prices but would consider a proposal to suspend federal gasoline taxes this summer -- an idea that has divided the 2008 presidential candidates... Bush again prodded Congress to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling and allow construction of more nuclear and coal plants... "I've repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems, yet time after time Congress chose to block them." Crude oil prices have surged more than five-fold since 2002... Oil prices are up nearly 25 percent since the...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Laser Creates Brightest Light On Earth (Texas)
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Laser creates brightest light on Earth By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 3:01pm BST 08/04/2008 The brightest light on Earth now shines in a laboratory in Texas, one which will enable scientists to create a tabletop star. The $14m Texas Petawatt laser reached greater than one petawatt - one thousand million million watts - of laser power in the past few days, making it the highest powered laser in the world, says Prof Todd Ditmire, a physicist at The University of Texas at Austin. The laser in action in the lab, the blue glass amplifiers can also be seen...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Nuclear fusion is coming, says noted VC
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INDIAN WELLS, Calif.--Nuclear fusion will move from the lab to reality in a few years, a noted venture capitalist says. "Within five years, large companies will start to think about building fusion reactors," Wal van Lierop, CEO of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, said in an interview at the Clean Tech Investor Summit taking place here this week. In three to four years, scientists will demonstrate results that show that fusion has a 60 percent chance of success, he said. If van Lierop were some crazy guy off the street with an old stack of Omni magazines, you could dismiss him....
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Stronger Future for Nuclear Power
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Some two dozen power plants are scheduled to be built or refurbished during the next five years in Canada, China, several European Union countries, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and South Africa. In the US and the UK, governmental preparations are under way that may lead to 15 new reactor orders by 2007. About 16% of the world's electricity supply comes from nuclear power, and energy demand is increasing (see PHYSICS TODAY, April 2002, page 54). Worldwide, nearly 80% of the 441 commercial nuclear reactors currently in operation are more than 15 years old.
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Fuel cells get a boost
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To efficiently operate a fuel cell, carbon monoxide has always been a major technical barrier. But now, chemical and biological engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have not only cleared that barrier—they also found a method to capture carbon monoxide's energy. To be useful in a power-generating fuel cell, hydrocarbons such as gasoline, natural gas, or ethanol must reform into a hydrogen-rich gas. A large, costly, and critical step to this process requires generating steam and forcing a reaction with carbon monoxide (CO). This process, called water-gas shift, produces hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). Additional steps then must reduce the...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Magnetic energy? Perhaps
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The nation's energy industry is struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Gas prices are soaring as a result of the catastrophic storm. America's reliance on overseas oil increases every year. And from his office in the North Bay city of Sebastopol, Mark Goldes envisions a day -- perhaps not so far off -- when none of this will be a problem. Goldes, 73, is chief executive of a small company called Magnetic Power Inc., which has spent years researching ways to, yes, generate power using magnets. Within a few months, he says, he might just have a breakthrough to report...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
Indian nuclear data on thorium unique, valuable: IAEA-CRP
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MUMBAI: The International Atomic Energy Agency's Co-ordinated Research Project has described the Indian nuclear data on thorium as unique and of high quality and its contribution very valuable for the international nuclear community. The nuclear data on thorium is much better than the six-decade data on natural uranium U-238 in both light water and pressurised heavy water reactors. "With these new evaluations done through the CRP on thorium, India has joined select band of criticality safety benchmark," Andrej Trkov, IAEA Scientific Secretary of Coordinated Research Project (CRP), said. The main Indian contribution is completion of the KAMINI reactor benchmark which...
Published on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 08:20:02 AM
"I love the irony — I've spent over 400 hours of my life looking for comets, and haven't found anything, and now, suddenly, when I'm not looking for one, I get one dumped in my lap."...
by Alan Hale
This Day In History
Maximilien Robespierre: Reign of Terror leader was guillotined in Paris during the French Revolution (1794)
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