# Is a Thorium Laser Electric Car Feasible?



## EVDL Archive (Jul 26, 2007)

Laser Power Systems is working on a small thorium laser powered generator that could, in theory, run an electric car for years without refueling, but is is really a good idea?

More...


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Now we are talking!


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Unfortunately the article is over two years old and total nonsense

Shame...


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Yeah, even by the time I clicked through to the article most of the links were dead. Oh well, a few more years yet to "Mr. Fusion."


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

I would like to work on making a thorium reactor for my EV... That will be the next step. 

Even if it would only produce 50% of the power needed to run at highway speeds, it would be an interesting concept.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Well actually, there was a legitimate alternative type of reactor proposed by NASA a few decades ago. Don't know if it used Thorium, but do know it was neither Uranium nor Plutonium.

The basic premise was that (microwaves?) were beamed at the material which would become more "active" (not a sustainable reaction, but much hotter than the energy beamed in would account for). This made the reactor nearly ideal - it could "switched off" when not needed, and the type of radiation it released was not the "bad stuff" (in other words, light shielding stopped pretty much all of it). 

The heat of course was used to run a conventional turbine with steam, although since they wanted to use it in space (weightlessness is a bitch) they had some fancy plumbing they wouldn't need here on earth.

Probably too big for an automobile, but perhaps not unreasonable to put in a locomotive or even a big rig truck.

Not sure if it is the same thing, this sound like what I remember reading about. http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-lenr-nuclear-reactor/26309/


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_battery

I am not a nuclear physist, but I would like to see what would happen if you set up a cathode ray tube and shot electrons at a bunch of Thorium or Uranium. Or shoot neutrons at it, but that might start a big chain reaction...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_generator

There was also something I read a while ago about how they setup a sphere around a radioactive device, and were able to convert the radiation into usable electricity.


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