The first atomic bomb was exploded in the deserts in central New Mexico 69 years ago this week. Now, the radiation levels there are still 10 times greater than those occurring in nature.
Had the U.S. government not been interested in the military aspect of nuclear energy, it’s very likely that it would have chosen a different reaction than U238/Pu239, perhaps thorium (Th232/U233), and Albert Einstein wouldn’t have had to lament, “If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.”
Here’s a video on thorium-based nuclear energy in which we come to learn that it’s not too late to develop this safe (low pressure), efficient (high temperature), non-threatening (very low weapons potential) solution with very little nuclear waste.
