Tiny block of thorium could power your car forever

[Texas Streak]

Range is a huge concern for anyone driving an electric vehicle. The fear of running out of juice with no means to recharge is very real as charging stations aren't exactly common. A zero-emission car technology currently being developed by Connecticut-based company, Laser Power Systems, completely eradicates this concern. In fact, if the technology ever takes off, you might never have to refuel again.
So what is Laser Power Systems' fuel of choice, exactly? It's a heavy-metal element called thorium. And according to the company, eight grams of the silvery metal is enough to power a car throughout its lifespan. Included in the set-up needed to run the car is a laser that heats the thorium. The heat surges produced by the element create steam from the water within a mini-turbine, providing the energy needed to run the car.
Unfortunately, tapping into thorium as an energy source wouldn't be easy. The element is plentiful enough — the United States has an estimated reserve of 440,000 tons of thorium. But no large-scale facilities dedicated to mining thorium exist, and it would take a lot of money to establish mining operations. Also, thorium is a nuclear power source like uranium, and that could raise some concerns. It's worth noting, though, that the element exhibits little radioactivity. So little, that it can be contained easily by something as ordinary as aluminum foil.
While the technology sounds promising, it's clearly in its infancy and we're bound to wait for quite some time before we see results. Larger issues like where to get the thorium aside, Laser Power Systems still has to work on a turbine small enough to fit under a car's hood, but powerful enough to run the vehicle. The company's CEO wants you to mark your calendars, though — he expects to have a prototype out by 2014.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technolo...203442766.html

[cosmic mariner]

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Cool. Maybe these are more efficient than a mini-turbine for the battery-free electric vehicles.


MIT develops photovoltaics that do not require sunlight to produce electricity

Here is a development that would surely give the future of renewable energy a much needed boost. A new photovoltaic system developed at MIT is capable of being powered solely by heat. It means that this system would not require sunlight to power itself as it can run only on heat. The source of the heat can be anything - sunlight, hydrocarbon fuel, a decaying radioisotope or anything else. As long as there is heat, this photovoltaic system would be capable of generating electricity from it...

[cosmic mariner]

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[Vendetta]

This is what i'm talking about.
A powersource that doesn't involve batteries.

[bigfatfurrytexan]

The system is set up so that there are people in the way. This allows more people to make money. In the case of this, it is energy companies. If you build a car that excludes energy companies, it will not decrease price for us. We will just end up paying 100k for a car, and not spending on gasoline.

Everyone wins but the consumer.