[nodsamadhi]

from http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all

After it has been used as fuel for power plants, the element leaves behind minuscule amounts of waste. And that waste needs to be stored for only a few hundred years, not a few hundred thousand like other nuclear byproducts. Because it’s so plentiful in nature, it’s virtually inexhaustible. It’s also one of only a few substances that acts as a thermal breeder, in theory creating enough new fuel as it breaks down to sustain a high-temperature chain reaction indefinitely. And it would be virtually impossible for the byproducts of a thorium reactor to be used by terrorists or anyone else to make nuclear weapons.

the scientist referenced in the article also has a blog:

http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/

[Pauldo]

is this a peer reviewed article!?    ;D

[thefixer]

This was an awesome article. Fissionable energy sources ain't dead yet! There's still some life in that old mare.

[nodsamadhi]

is this a peer reviewed article!?    ;D

you're my peer, what did you think of it? 😉

on a more serious note, wired is hardly a bastion of respectable science – though i believe they're decent about checking their sources. you can see a lot of references in his blog and the article, most of which i didn't really bother following up on 😛

[Pauldo]

I liked it, hope it's adopted like it should have been.

[thefixer]

on a more serious note, wired is hardly a bastion of respectable science –

I am a staunch foe of respectable science. Thank god for Wired magazine – it has given me so many great directions for my life (e.g. going to Burning Man, after I read the Bruce Sterling piece). All Hail Wired!

[floats]

I am a staunch foe of respectable science. Thank god for Wired magazine – it has given me so many great directions for my life (e.g. going to Burning Man, after I read the Bruce Sterling piece). All Hail Wired!

Ha! My sister sent me that same story before she went. The image of the man whizzing by on a portable toilet struck just the right note of Burning Man's signature delight in the weird. Or maybe he was just prepared for anything.

[Author]

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