If you buy a thorium-powered car stopping for fuel will be a thing of the past, a relic of the barbarian lifestyle led by early post industrialized populations. If you planned on living more than 100 years, a thorium powered car may need a replacement fuel cell to get you to the end of the race.

While browsing around for the latest and greatest in technological innovations, I found an intersting article entitled 'Cars That Run For 100 Years Without Refuelling Are Around The Corner' published on a site called CarThrottle. The article talked about the future of cars and specifically the possibility of creating a thorium powered car that could be driven for 100 years without needing a recharge.

Electric cars are about to be made to look like donkeys. Hydrogen cars are about to be made to feel about as advanced as a herd of goats. Forget what you know, because cars that can run for 100 years without refuelling could be just around the corner. There’s a new propulsion technology on the horizon that uses an incredibly dense element called thorium. It’s so dense that even the smallest grain of it has the potential to create more heat than a dozen clones of Eva Mendes. And okay, we're well aware that nobody apart from Rolls-Royce and maybe Bentley could make a car that could last for 100 years, but it's a nice round number and it's what's on the table.

According to the article both electric and hydrogen cars although being very advanced compared to their fossil-fuel guzzling counterparts are obsolete tech if you compare them to the advanced thorium powered car prototypes being developed by scientists.

An American company called Laser Power Systems is working on using thorium to generate enough energy to create a laser, which heats water and creates steam that can ultimately provide motion. Just eight grams of thorium is enough to power a car for a century, and while it’s in the early stages it’s genuinely viable. The current prototype ‘engine’ is said to weigh about 225kg, making it comparable with internal combustion motors.

According to the article it only takes 8 grams of thorium to power a car for a century and even though this technology is only in the early stages of development its already looking extremely possible to the point that its almost probable we will have cars like this assuming large fossil fuel companies don't get their way.

With low mileage a thorium car could run for 10 decades. What’s more, there’s much less environmental risk than with nuclear power. At worst thorium power produces 10 times less long-lived radiation than typical nuclear fission. At best, we’re talking 10,000 times less. Bit of a no-brainer, really, especially if the government ends up deciding to bury it at the bottom of your garden.

The century estimation assumes that the car would be driven at a comparable rate to the average American commuter but for someone who rarely drives it could last up to 10 centuries. Another point made is that although Thorium is radioactive its much less of a risk when compared to typical nuclear fission.

This is the point where I would argue that even though this technology seems promising, I still think humanity needs to keep looking for completely clean sources of efficient energy. I can see potential for thorium powered cars further contaminating our world but this field of science should still be studied as there is definitely potential here.

Techblogger Wrap Up

Do you think we will live to see thorium powered cars driving around our neighborhoods? Should the masses support this type of technology over other sources of clean energy like solar, wind and hydrogen?

Please leave your thoughts, comments and feedback below.

Thanks for reading!

Source:

Cars That Run For 100 Years Without Refuelling Are Around The Corner - CarThrottle

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Tags: technology future car fuel science