Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Thorium resources are the estimated mineral reserves of thorium on Earth. Thorium is a future potential source of low-carbon energy. [1] Thorium has been demonstrated to perform as a nuclear fuel in several reactor designs. [2] [3] It is present with a higher abundance than uranium in the crust of the earth. Thorium resources have not been ...
Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and has a high melting point. Thorium is an electropositive actinide whose chemistry is dominated by the +4 oxidation state; it is quite reactive and can ignite in air when finely ...
Thorium reacts with hydrogen to form the thorium hydrides ThH 2 and Th 4 H 15, the latter of which is superconducting below the transition temperature of 7.5–8 K; at standard temperature and pressure, it conducts electricity like a metal. [12] Thorium is the only metallic element that readily forms a hydride higher than MH 3. [31]
Thorium concentrations on the Moon, as mapped by Lunar Prospector. Thorium is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils. Soil commonly contains an average of around 6 parts per million (ppm) of thorium. [1] Thorium occurs in several minerals including thorite (ThSiO 4), thorianite (ThO 2 + UO 2) and monazite. Thorianite is a rare mineral ...
Thorium has a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition and thus a standard atomic weight can be given. Thirty-one radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 232 Th, 230 Th with a half-life of 75,380 years, 229 Th with a half-life of 7,917 years, [ 2 ] and 228 Th with a half-life of 1.92 years.
A sample of thorium. Thorium-based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium-233 produced from the fertile element thorium.A thorium fuel cycle can offer several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycle [Note 1] —including the much greater abundance of thorium found on Earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced ...
The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear fuel cycle that uses an isotope of thorium, 232 Th, as the fertile material. In the reactor, 232 Th is transmuted into the fissile artificial uranium isotope 233 U which is the nuclear fuel. Unlike natural uranium, natural thorium contains only trace amounts of fissile material (such as 231 Th
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us; Pages for logged out editors learn more