The History of Thorium — The Metal Too Safe For War
Relics & Realms
1,841 views
The History of Thorium — The Metal Too Safe For War
In 1965, deep in a Tennessee laboratory, physicists powered up a nuclear reactor that was mathematically incapable of melting down. It ran flawlessly for twenty thousand hours, promising limitless, clean electricity for the entire planet. Then the US government abruptly shut it down, locked the doors, and buried the research—because this miracle machine had a fatal flaw: you couldn't build a bomb with it.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The Reactor That Couldn't Melt
1:56 The God of Thunder
3:32 The Glowing Mantle
5:14 The Uranium Obsession
7:07 Alvin Weinberg's Vision
9:13 A Liquid Fuel
10:59 The Breeding Cycle
12:56 Fire in the Tube
14:47 The Fatal Flaw of Peace
16:52 The California Ultimatum
18:42 Fired for Safety
20:34 Locked in the Archives
22:25 The Uranium Era's Price
24:05 A Box in the Desert
25:51 The Startup Renaissance
27:59 The Geopolitical Race
29:52 The Regulatory Bottleneck
32:18 Power Without the Bomb
If this surprised you, subscribe for more hidden histories behind the objects you use every day.
#history #documentary #thorium
2 Comments
What the video does not mention is the potential use of such LFTRs to 'burn off' existing radioactive waste products while also generating needed electricity.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor#Removal_of_fission_products for more details on this much-needed alternative to
Uranium / plutonium based nuclear reactors currently in use!
The History of Thorium — The Metal Too Safe For War
Relics & Realms
1,841 views
The History of Thorium — The Metal Too Safe For War
In 1965, deep in a Tennessee laboratory, physicists powered up a nuclear reactor that was mathematically incapable of melting down. It ran flawlessly for twenty thousand hours, promising limitless, clean electricity for the entire planet. Then the US government abruptly shut it down, locked the doors, and buried the research—because this miracle machine had a fatal flaw: you couldn't build a bomb with it.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The Reactor That Couldn't Melt
1:56 The God of Thunder
3:32 The Glowing Mantle
5:14 The Uranium Obsession
7:07 Alvin Weinberg's Vision
9:13 A Liquid Fuel
10:59 The Breeding Cycle
12:56 Fire in the Tube
14:47 The Fatal Flaw of Peace
16:52 The California Ultimatum
18:42 Fired for Safety
20:34 Locked in the Archives
22:25 The Uranium Era's Price
24:05 A Box in the Desert
25:51 The Startup Renaissance
27:59 The Geopolitical Race
29:52 The Regulatory Bottleneck
32:18 Power Without the Bomb
If this surprised you, subscribe for more hidden histories behind the objects you use every day.
#history #documentary #thorium