[ExI] Written for another list

[Eugen Leitl]

On Sat, Aug 04, 2012 at 10:28:06AM -0400, John Clark wrote:

> > Which did not ran on the thorium cycle.
> >
> 
> If it ran on U233 it had to make use of the thorium cycle because U233 does
> not exist in nature; if you want some the only way to get it is to breed it
> from Thorium.

Using a *different* preparative neutron source which ran on 
the uranium fuel cycle. Which is why they did it with U-235
first, because they simply did not have the production 
capacity to produce enough U-233 to kickstart the process,
nevermind to show that the assembly has sufficiently
high breeding factor to be fertile. 

Again, the only interesting part of LFTR *concept* is 
in that it's a molten salt fast or slow breeder based 
on the thorium fuel cycle. Because we know that uranium
cycle fast breeders are impractical.

The *concept* has never been validated in all aspects of
practical operation in a pilot which ran for any time at
output close to commercially relevant.

As such it is currently impossible to talk about LFTR as
a practical, scalable energy source, nevermind a safe practical
energy source. 

As we've ran out of time to research and deploy solutions
we will provably not be able to find that out should we
ever want to try -- you will find a curious absence of 
such attempts even in countries which should be very interested
in alternative fuelcycle breeders. Makes one wonder,
doesn't it.

Which is why the people who so vocally, annoyingly bray about
the stupid politicians who doom the world by not deploying
all these thousands ~GW of molten salt thorium reactors per year 
are massively delusional. 

Meanwhile, we have dozens of *proven* solutions which need
to be rolled out on a very wide scale which unfortunately have
no vocal supporters. Nor absolutely vital parts of R&D
that absolutely, positively need to be done, now on an emergency
schedule (because they were not done in the last 40 years,
where we knew what we know today, and what needed to be done).

This is the part that makes me stock up on popcorn.
 
> > > This is typical for thorium polyannas, and this is why I no longer
> > debate thorium polyannas. Or creationists.
> >
> 
> Now that's a low blow, and its a pity because this was just starting to get
> fun.

You're a strange man, John.