Originally posted by peck420
Boncho,

Do you have any references for what it would take to convert U-233 (thorium byproduct) to U-235 (weapons grade uranium)?

I'm just curious, as I can't seem to find much.

I can only find phrases such as "thorium is not nearly as easy to weaponize", etc.

Maybe converting U-233 to U-235 is not something that could be done discretely in a persons back yard?

Thanks in advance.

MET stands either for "Military Effects Test" or "Military Effects Tower" (according to Frank Shelton). This was a LASL test of a composite U-233/plutonium bomb core (the first test by the U.S. to use U-233) in a Mk 7 HE assembly. The 30 inch diameter spherical implosion system weighed 800 lb.

uclear powered cars aren’t exactly a new idea, designers have been fantasizing about them for decades. However, recent research by Charles Stevens, head of Laser Power Systems, suggests that it may be far more possible than previously imagined. The problem Stevens was setting out to solve was bigger than “getting off gas” but rather, the problem of having to fuel cars at all. He believes that 8 grams of the rare-earth mineral thorium, lasers, and mini-turbines could solve that problem by providing the equivalent of 60,000 gallons of gasoline, enough to take a Hummer 960,000 miles, all with no emissions.

Granted, thorium is radioactive, which screams “dangerous” to many people, but it is a lot safer than, say, uranium. According to Stevens, its radioactivity could be easily confined with aluminum foil. The bigger hurdles with the technology hardly involve radioactivity at all: While there are 440,000 tons of thorium in the U.S. alone, no one has really set up any facilities for the purpose of mining it out. That may have to change.

The other issue — a frustratingly practical one — is the matter of making the turbines small enough to fit comfortably in the car and still provide sufficient energy to keep it moving. Still, Stevens expects that he can have a prototype by 2014.