Uranium VS Thorium

This is china with which has been stained with uranium. They are rare and very valuable! That collection is practically worth its weight in Faberge eggs! Sadly, Uranium has had some unexpected issues that we are just recently having to deal with.

Uranium is incredibly volatile! As you most likely know, Uranium is used for nuclear power. This diagram explains how uranium nuclear power works but essentially this is it: 

• Uranium is super hot, 
• The heat creates gas, 
• That gas floats up to propel a turbine, 
• The turbine turns which causes magnets (which are attached to the turbine) to spin with it, 
• That causes quick changes in the magnets' magnetic field, 
• Which creates electricity. 

Yeah, I know! Plus, That's just layman's terms! 

One thing I'd like to draw your attention to is the amount of pumps and pipes. Since uranium is volatile, it needs to be kept at a stable temperature constantly (Which is very hard to do). 

• The pipes are used to let out hot air/steam. 
• The pumps are used to cool the Uranium rods down with water.

Uranium nuclear power is so unsafe, it is consistently being monitored due to it's extremely high risk of having a meltdown.

Uranium is dangerous and very bad for the earth. One problem that we Americans have had to deal with is nuclear waste. To dispose of it, we practically have to ask ourselves:

• "Where on this earth do we not care enough about?" 
• "Where would we not mind letting human feet be unable to touch for the next 30,000,000 years?"  
• "Where do we put this deadly material which will kill any animal & plant life that we put it near?"

But with all of that, here is the real problem. We have a better option. 

It is safe, clean and of abundance. 

It is called: Thorium!

This diagram explains how thorium nuclear power works but essentially this is it: 

• Liquid thorium is stirred with control rods, 
• The control rods are heated, which heat the liquid thorium, 
• The thorium creates liquid vapor (Which is water vapor, it is extracted through a process of reduction, which is just boiling out the water and turning it to stream), 
• The vapor floats up and spins a turbine, 
• The turbine turns which causes magnets (which are attached to the turbine) to spin with it, 
• That causes quick changes in the magnets' magnetic field, 
• Which creates electricity. 

The key difference between Uranium and Thorium is, Thorium is trying to be "hyped up" while Uranium is trying to be "settled down". 

If you walk away form a Thorium reactor the rods will stop stirring and the Thorium will solidify into a rock (which will cause it to be filtered and contained in a storage capsule).

 However, 

If you walk away from a Uranium reactor, pipes will stop flowing water to the Uranium rods (Humans have to monitor how much cold/hot water touches the rods because technology is not advanced enough to be able to be relied on). The core will over heat and will it will start melting the whole facility. (Uranium nuclear reactor facilities are quite large.) In a matter of two hours the entire building will have been eroded and contaminated, unless further action is taken, such as dumping water via helicopter onto the core. 

What might not be of surprise is that Thorium is named after the god, Thor! 

Thor was the strongest of all gods. His hammer, Mjollnir, controlled thunder and lightning. You know the funny part about that? Lightning is electricity and thorium can create that very thing!

Pro's of Thorium:

• Thorium is as abundant as Led
• The amount of Thorium to power your ENTIRE life is an amount the size of a marble
• Thorium is found in almost all rocks! (AKA safe to touch!)
• Thorium is cheep!
• If the Government switched to Thorium based nuclear energy, we could be energy independent in 10 years. (AKA it could end the energy crisis)
• It is safe for the environment, (Thus it being very applicably available in nature) which means a decrease in Americas carbon footprint on the atmosphere 
• Thorium has not been used by any other countries, so America could be pioneers in the field and thus hold rights/patents.  
• Safe to dispose of.

(This image shows how much less of an impact Thorium has then Uranium to our environment.)

So, WHY ARENT WE USING THORIUM??????

Here is why:

Thorium was discovered to be of possible use in the 1960's.

 Do you remember what else was in the 60's?? 

  I'll give you a BIG hint.. We needed weapons for it? 

   It was the Vietnam war! 

    Guess what some of those weapons were?... 

     They were bombs... 

      Guess what some of those bombs were made of?..... 

       Yup... Uranium! 

So in other words we needed to focus our efforts and capital towards the war.

President Reagan stopped all funding of Thorium and it has not been visited by the United States Government since.

Only recently have independent scientist revisited the idea. 

Recently we have been seeing how wrong of a choice it was to devote ourselves to Uranium. 

We have seen both the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters. 

We have a greater carbon admission then ever and we have deadly nuclear waste that we have no where to put it.

(This chart shows how much energy is wasted with Uranium and how much is Created with Thorium!)

In the case of Thorium vs. Uranium

Thorium will win every time!

Mass Productions . . .

I believe that it is okay to eat meat! Especially if they die of natural causes. However, Let us give those animals long lives of happiness and adventure! 

• All animals have the capability to bring each of us intense happiness! 

Every animal can do things outside of our imagination, surprise us in magical ways. All animals have emotions, fears and loves. It's hard wired into their genetics. The love they can give to us and each other is beautiful! Sure we get the occasional viral video of the cute cow with the cute dog. But really, that is constant in nature. Their is a food chain, sure, but nature often ignores it and exchanges it with team work and compassion. You might be impressed with the intelligence of a cow.

• We should all be given the choice of meat for protein but it should not be vastly available. It should be a once a week thing: scarce.

Because lives are behind those packages. Give the cows/pigs/chickens a good life of freedom and when nature takes them, then we may have them. 

• "The good earth is rich and can provide for everyone" - Charlie Chaplin. 

Not everyone can afford organic, free range blah blah blah. That is why I will devote my life to making everyone elses' better. I want everyone to be given the right to cheap/heathly/delicious food. That way all we have to worry about is societies progress. (Science and biology baby!) 

keep eatin' what makes you happy, but creativity is currency so make it count!