Thorium distracted, but...
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2023 7:06 pm
Bear with me on this. Thorium (U-233) has been pinging all over the place for me.
It has been claimed that the Nazi Bell was actually a thorium based breeder reactor. (See The Dreaded UFO Topic). It might well have been, as thorium is an ideal nuclear fuel, yielding more fissile material than it consumes. The waste by-product is also far less harmful than the depleted uranium rods from the present generation of nuclear power plants.
After the NRL's demonstrated success with thorium based thermal diffusion, the US seemed interested in pursuing U-233 technology. Oak Ridge National Laboratory even had their own breeder/reactor operating until 1969, when public policy settled on a nuclear power grid based on Uranium 235 based reactors. Thorium was a dead issue until China's 2021 announcement of the a "game changing" thorium fueled reactor reignited an interest in this new old technology.
The reason for this thread is because I had another, unexpected thorium ping while digging into events around April 14, 1955, when Townsend told Cornillion he could not meet him for dinner in Philly as he had to return to Washington that evening.
The US was conducting nuclear testing at the Nevada Proving Grounds on a nigh weekly basis, then As the story goes, the MET tower test scheduled for April 15, was to use a calibrated plutionium-U235 core. Unfortunately, the Los Alamos weapon designers decided to try an untested, and not calibrated plutonium/U-233 (thorium) core instead and the test effects personnel were not informed of the change. Consequently, the test results were unusable to the Department of Defense.
i have accepting that as the truth, the whole truth, and nuttin' but the truth. Test missions varied according to whether a test was conducted for the Atomic Energy Commission or for the DoD, but the AEC was the grand ringmaster. if the results were unusable to the Dod, were they equally unusable to the AEC? Was MET a spectacular waste of money, time, and effort, or is the story another Prairie Chicken? And lastly, is it relevant to Townsend's need to be in D.C. on the 15th?
It has been claimed that the Nazi Bell was actually a thorium based breeder reactor. (See The Dreaded UFO Topic). It might well have been, as thorium is an ideal nuclear fuel, yielding more fissile material than it consumes. The waste by-product is also far less harmful than the depleted uranium rods from the present generation of nuclear power plants.
After the NRL's demonstrated success with thorium based thermal diffusion, the US seemed interested in pursuing U-233 technology. Oak Ridge National Laboratory even had their own breeder/reactor operating until 1969, when public policy settled on a nuclear power grid based on Uranium 235 based reactors. Thorium was a dead issue until China's 2021 announcement of the a "game changing" thorium fueled reactor reignited an interest in this new old technology.
The reason for this thread is because I had another, unexpected thorium ping while digging into events around April 14, 1955, when Townsend told Cornillion he could not meet him for dinner in Philly as he had to return to Washington that evening.
The US was conducting nuclear testing at the Nevada Proving Grounds on a nigh weekly basis, then As the story goes, the MET tower test scheduled for April 15, was to use a calibrated plutionium-U235 core. Unfortunately, the Los Alamos weapon designers decided to try an untested, and not calibrated plutonium/U-233 (thorium) core instead and the test effects personnel were not informed of the change. Consequently, the test results were unusable to the Department of Defense.
i have accepting that as the truth, the whole truth, and nuttin' but the truth. Test missions varied according to whether a test was conducted for the Atomic Energy Commission or for the DoD, but the AEC was the grand ringmaster. if the results were unusable to the Dod, were they equally unusable to the AEC? Was MET a spectacular waste of money, time, and effort, or is the story another Prairie Chicken? And lastly, is it relevant to Townsend's need to be in D.C. on the 15th?