this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2025
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China has world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor thanks to ‘strategic stamina’ (www.scmp.com)
submitted 3 days ago by schizoidman@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world
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https://archive.is/2nQSh

It marks the first long-term, stable operation of the technology, putting China at the forefront of a global race to harness thorium – considered a safer and more abundant alternative to uranium – for nuclear power.

The experimental reactor, located in the Gobi Desert in China’s west, uses molten salt as the fuel carrier and coolant, and thorium – a radioactive element abundant in the Earth’s crust – as the fuel source. The reactor is reportedly designed to sustainably generate 2 megawatts of thermal power.

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[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 day ago

It is a point for them to coexist. It's called plausible deniability.

What exactly are you trying to argue? That it's not a good reason for a country to get a bunch of uranium without raising questions?

There was absolutely no incentive to research more about alternative fuels, uranium and plutonium were materials the nuclear powers wanted. For more than just 1 reason...

If countries REALLY wanted nuclear power without Uranium. They would have researched it. Like China have. But no one else has. Well some have, but they all gave up a long time ago.

Sweden was researching it, but decided to go with Uranium, coincidentally, they just happened to also research nuclear weapons... very strange coincidence that... (Sweden was later encouraged to halt all nuclear weapons research)