[ExI] Could Thorium solve our energy problem?

[Henrique Moraes Machado (CI)]

<Brent Neal, Ph.D.>
> Actually, less than a thousand.
> I base this on a calculation I did for a presentation on sustainable 
> energy for the layperson that I recently gave.
> The relevant data are:
> 4.3 Mton world thorium reserves (source: OECD)
> Energy density: 80TJ / ton thorium (estimate based on conversion to U233 
> via slow neutrons)
> World energy consumption (2006): 498 EJ (source: EIA, IAEA, OECD)
> World energy annual growth rate (computed from 1980-2006): 1.8%
> The calculation of when the cumulative energy usage exceeds the energy 
> available in the world's reserves of thorium is left as an exercise to the 
> reader. Please note that you have to include the efficiency of a Carnot 
> engine in the calculation for full marks. :)
</Brent Neal, Ph.D.>



A thousand, ten thousand, a million. Even a couple hundred years would buy 
more than enough time to develop a usable fusion solution.