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HeebieMcJeeberson t1_j27phgg wrote

Reply to comment by Withstrangeaeons_ in What if we kept pursuing nuclear spacecraft propulsion? by rosTopicEchoChamber

If you want to go down the government rabbit hole think about thorium reactors, which would be safer and cheaper than uranium/plutonium and with much less waste. We could have had these long ago, but thorium reactors can't produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is why the research money didn't go that route.

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Withstrangeaeons_ t1_j2duwzp wrote

Exactly. My take on those people's thinking:

"Say, boss, I noticed that this thing called thorium is also radioactive."

"Can it be turned into nukes?"

"Uhhhh.... It's harder, but yo-"

"Scrap it! Uranium is better for our purposes, then. Forget about thorium."

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