U.S. Researcher: Cars Powered by Thorium

[txlibdem]

U.S. Researcher Preparing Prototype Cars Powered by Heavy-Metal Thorium

By Keith Nuthall
WardsAuto.com, Aug 11, 2011 9:21 AM

The key to the system developed by inventor Charles Stevens, CEO and chairman of Connecticut-based Laser Power Systems, is that when silvery metal thorium is heated by an external source, becomes it is so dense its molecules give off considerable heat.

Small blocks of thorium generate heat surges that are configured as a thorium-based laser, Stevens tells Ward’s. These create steam from water within mini-turbines, generating electricity to drive a car.

A 250 KW unit weighing about 500 lbs. (227 kg) would be small and light enough to drop under the hood of a car, he says.

...

Because thorium is so dense, similar to uranium, it stores considerable potential energy: 1 gm of thorium equals the energy of 7,500 gallons (28,391 L) of gasoline Stevens says. So, using just 8 gm of thorium in a car should mean it would never need refueling.
Thorium has highest melting point of all oxides at 3,182° F.

http://wardsauto.com/ar/thorium_power_car_110811/

Did I fail to mention that the car will run for a million miles without need of refueling...

What about radioactivity? LPS says Thorium’s low levels could be blocked with aluminum foil. Yes, tinfoil. Terrorism? Because the Thorium is not superheated, it does not produce fissile material. Where does Thorium come from? Let’s just say the US has the world’s largest known reserves. General safety? The U.S. Geological Survey’s former senior advisor on rare earths calls the concept “both plausible and sensible.” So why aren’t we driving around thorium-laser-turbine EVs already? According to LPS CEO Charles Stevens.

“The issue is having a customized application that is purpose-made,” he says, admitting that developing a portable and usable turbine and generator is proving to be a tougher task than the laser-thorium unit.

“How do you take the laser and put these things together efficiently?” he asks rhetorically. But once that is achieved, “This car will run for a million miles. The car will wear out before the engine. There is no oil, no emissions – nothing.”

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/08/are-you-ready-for-the-thorium-laser-steam-turbine-electric-powertrain/

[TheWraith]

1. That's pretty awesome, but I'd like to see if they can make it practical.

We hear over and over about breakthoughs, like new drugs and treatments, or new energy tech, which never makes it out of the lab. This sounds interesting, but I'll wait and see. Among other questions that need to be answered is, what happens to the thorium? Since there's no such thing as free energy, I assume it gets used up. Does it exit the vehicle? I would hope not, since it is mildly poisonous. Granted, we're pumping hundreds of tons a year of the stuff right into the air from coal plants...

[valerief]

2. What happens in a car crash? How much radioactivity is released when the tin foil falls off? nt

[txlibdem]

12. The active part of the engine is encased in 3 inches of stainless steel

No crash danger.

[Terry in Austin]

15. "No crash danger"

Mm-hmm. And the Titanic was unsinkable.

[TheWraith]

18. Thorium is fairly harmless.

How much so? Well... right now we're releasing hundreds of tons a year of the stuff directly into the air, from coal-fired power plants. So to equal that, you would have to catastrophically crash about 1 million cars a year.

[kristopher]

3. ROFLMAO - how freaking gullible can anyone be?

From the comments at the first link:

Bytor
August 14th, 2011 at 11:07 am

Yes, it is pretty damn sad how long that scam has been running successfully.

But this one is completely ridiculous. Charles Stevens, was previously running medical scams. He doesn’t even cover his tracks. Check his linked in page:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/laserturbinepower
His Previous venture is listed as CEO of Helyxzion (cure all disease):

http://help-cure-disease-now.blogspot.com/
”
HELYXZION
NEEDS YOUR HELP!
USEING HELYXZION TECHNOLOGY WE CAN CURE “ALL” DISEASE
REGENERATE LOST LIMBS
REBUILD DAMAGED ORGANS
CREATE NANOTECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL SAVE LIVES
YOU CAN HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN AND MAKE YOURSELF MONEY AT THE SAME TIME JUST FOLLOW ONE OF THESE LINKS:
MAKE MONEY AND HELP CURE DISEASE:
”

So curing all disease wasn’t enough for our intrepid CEO, he is now going to solve our energy problems as well. Quite the polymath we have here…

It is scary that people buy this guys snake oil. Wards Auto should hang their heads in disgrace for being duped so easily by this nonsense. He is just repackaging some buzzwords and throwing in some facts out of context (mixed in with outright nonsense).

He really isn’t even a very good scammer, only natural dupes should fall for this, but sadly we have too many of those.
Login to reply

Bytor
August 14th, 2011 at 11:26 am

Some more digging I found Press releases of partnerships with Stevens previous company Helyxzion. I wondered who would partner with an obvious scam. The thing is all those partners appear to have evaporated as well into dead link land. Though I did find a trail on this one (lots of press releases still available):

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/03/prweb360691.htm
“Helyxzion and Telomolecular Announce Strategic Partnership
According to Chief Executive Officer, Matthew A. Sarad, “Helyxzion’s technologies are able ….”

Followed by SEC litigation against Sarad for stock fraud:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20745.htm
SEC Charges California Biotechnology Company for Fraudulent Stock Scheme

The SEC alleges that Telomolecular and its founder and former CEO, Matthew A. Sarad of Folsom, Calif., induced hundreds of investors nationwide to purchase $6.5 million worth of shares of Telomolecular stock. According to the SEC’s complaint, Telomolecular and Sarad falsely claimed the company was backed by a deep management and scientific team, generating significant industry interest in its technologies, and prepared to obtain financing from substantial institutions. Instead, the complaint alleges that the company lacked the management professionals and extensive scientific staff it claimed, the supposed interest in its technologies did not exist, and the potential source of financing it touted was a sole proprietorship with no assets.

It is a sad state of “Journalism” today that Wards will publish “too good to be true” tech stories that should immediately send your scam meter into the red, without any background checks and that should have revealed a web of scams/fraud. This bored auto fan only wasted about 20 minutes with Google to dig this up. Any “journalist” who valued their integrity should have done at least this much. I am sure there is much more…

[bananas]

7. USEING HELYXZION TECHNOLOGY WE CAN CURE “ALL” DISEASE

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[bananas]

8. This nonsense had 8 net recs

Pro-nukes can be very gullible.

[AtheistCrusader]

14. Pegged my bullshit meter at "250kw"

Because shit, we'd just run entire neighborhoods off it, if it worked. That's like a 350 bhp engine.

[wtmusic]

21. That's a conservative estimate.

If his device was only 10% efficient a 5-gram source of thorium would generate 250kW for 1,000 hours.

[LiberalEsto]

4. What is done with the waste

when the thorium decays?

[Tesha]

5. In these days of a Terraist under every bed, ...

...they are *NEVER* going to let any of us have
access to significant quantities of nuclear material.

Tesha

[wtmusic]

6. Electric cars are already like, so 2010. K&R. nt

[txlibdem]

24. This is an electric car

For comparison, the Chevy Volt uses a 110 kW electric motor, as does the Nissan Leaf. Their battery packs weigh around 800 pounds.

The Thorium car produces 250 kW from a 500 lb power pack and therefore could use two 110kW electric motors. That is F-350 with the dualies, towing a 50 ft travel trailer up a mountain territory. Or an F-450 or F-550 bus or delivery vehicle.

And 8 grams of Thorium will let it run for 1 million miles! I hope this isn't more of that Elon Musk pie in the sky "I'm gonna build an electric racecar with no help or experience from Detroit." What a fool that guy was... Wait a minute...

[kristopher]

"The thorium car" doesn't exist. It is a scam.

[bananas]

27. And nobody has answered my question: "Dr. Charles Stevens" - "Doctor" of what, exactly?

which I asked last time this nonsense was posted: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1729829&mesg_id=1730066

[txlibdem]

31. What was Einstein "doctor" of??? That fool certainly couldn't have any good ideas.

:dunce: good job following your Sith Master, apprentice. Perhaps you'll get a cookie. :dunce:

[bananas]

33. Einstein had a PhD in physics.

"Doctor" can refer to a PhD, MD, DDS, DO, DC, etc.
So again, exactly what is "Dr. Charles Stevens" a "Doctor" of?

http://www.galacticgovernment.net/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=72

Dr. Charles Stevens
CEO

Address:
Headquarters: 1 Galactic City Center, Galactic City, Sea of Tranquility, Moon of Earth

Earth Satellite Office: Sturbridge, MA. 01566, USA

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone: [phone]

http://www.helyxzion.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1%3Aname&catid=12%3Acontacts&Itemid=53

Dr. Charles Stevens
President CEO

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone: [phone]

[txlibdem]

37. He was a patent clerk while working on his theories, when he published one of his papers

He had a teaching degree from the Zurich Polytechnic, but was unable to get a job teaching... didn't receive a PHD until 1905.

[bananas]

49. Einstein earned his doctorate at age 26, did "Dr. Charles Stevens" earn a doctorate in anything?

Or does he just call himself "Dr." to fool people?

[txlibdem]

52. Moving the goalposts won't help you "un-lose" a battle you've lost... n/t

[bananas]

58. The goalpost hasn't changed, "Dr. Charles Stevens" - "Doctor" of what, exactly?

which I asked last time this nonsense was posted:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1729829&mesg_id=1730066

bananas (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-12-11 10:45 PM
Response to Reply #6

10. "Dr. Charles Stevens" - "Doctor" of what, exactly?

I've just spent a few minutes googling this and found nothing but fluff.

Still nothing but fluff.

[txlibdem]

60. Without a PHD you're nothing but fluff or a fraud. Why don't you ask Elon Musk?

You know: founder of PayPal, co-founder of Tesla Motors, now founder of SpaceX. Yeah, that guy may have billions of dollars but he's "all fluff."

Your argument is baseless, infantile, and without merit.

[bananas]

63. No, but calling oneself a "Dr." without actually being a doctor is.

AFAIK, Elon Musk has never tried to misrepresent his credentials.
Now tell us exactly what "Dr. Charles Stevens" is a doctor of.

[txlibdem]

64. You are the one with the issue. I just showed you a non-PHD holder who built cars

... whom you called "fluff" if he doesn't have a PHD. How the heck that makes an ant hill's worth of difference is anyone's guess. If I gave a crap about who does or doesn't have a PHD I could probably find several examples of people who built or achieved amazing things without having a PHD... but since I don't give a crap about your silly little issue I'm not wasting my time.

But you won't let go because you think that makes some sort of "point" for you or ??? I am not the one who raised the issue of having a PHD. I don't care if he has one or not.

Do your own google search if you're interested.

[bananas]

65. This really went over your head.

He called himself "Dr.", I asked "doctor of what?"
Without an answer to that question, it raises the issue of whether he misrepresented himself.
For some reason you're comparing this guy to Musk and Einstein even though you don't know anything about him.
Elon Musk didn't misrepresent himself.
Einstein didn't misrepresent himself.
Did Charles Stevens misrepresent himself?

[txlibdem]

66. Same answer as before: you care about it, go research it.

I gave you a prime example in Elon Musk who created 3 companies that have changed or will change the world: PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX (just my opinion about that last one). No PHD, no interest in having or getting a PHD.

Do your google search if you want to. Or do you want to expand the "investigation" to include "Dr. Phil?"

You whine about "misrepresentation" and yet I have it on good authority that you are NOT, sir, a banana.

[bananas]

69. When someone claims to be a Dr, and they aren't, there's an obvious problem.

You're making a straw man argument.
He claimed to be a doctor, did he lie or not?

[txlibdem]

70. What is your proof that he is not a PHD? Or did you mean a medical doctor?

Your posts promoting this accusation are lacking in facts or evidence.

PS, I cannot prove a negative. You are the one making the charge, it is up to you to prove it. That someone has to point this out to you speaks volumes.

[The Doctor.]

72. That point sure sailed over your head.

That, and you've been asked to demonstrate a positive, not a negative.

Logic: You're doing it wrong.

[txlibdem]

30. 1901: the trans-atlantic airplane does not exist. It is a scam.

1952: rockets powerful enough to put a satellite into orbit do not exist. It is a scam.

1939: programmable computers do not exist. It is a scam.

1974: the Internet does not exist. It is a scam.

Need I go on???

[kristopher]

26. "The thorium car" doesn't exist. It is a scam.

[txlibdem]

32. 1901: the trans-atlantic airplane does not exist. It is a scam.

1901: the trans-atlantic airplane does not exist. It is a scam.

1952: rockets powerful enough to put a satellite into orbit do not exist. It is a scam.

1939: programmable computers do not exist. It is a scam.

1974: the Internet does not exist. It is a scam.

Need I go on???

[Nederland]

43. What do you think that post proves?

That because a handful of things in the past that were classified as scams turned out to be real, there is no such thing as a scam?

[txlibdem]

46. Actually, I think you should take some time to think about what my post proves

Think. Then type. Investigate the topic first. Just some helpful advice so you don't look foolish.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Proving once again DU needs a pseudoscience/scam dungeon ...

:evilfrown:

[Kolesar]

10. People used to post astrology in the DU E/E forum ten years ago...eom

[wtmusic]

20. Pseudoscience?

Can you point out anything that's theoretically impossible about this idea?

[Fledermaus]

34. Can you explain how it works?

[wtmusic]

35. Can you explain what's not plausible and sensible about the idea?

Jim Hedrick, a specialist on industrial minerals – and until last year the U.S. Geological Survey’s senior advisor on rare earths – tells Ward’s the idea is “both plausible and sensible.”

Since your qualifications blow his away, I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say. What were your qualifications again?

[Fledermaus]

36. That's not much of an explanation.

[wtmusic]

41. I didn't think so.

Nice diversion. What are your qualifications again?

Thanks.

[Fledermaus]

44. So, no one here can explain how it works?

[bananas]

50. What are "Dr. Charles Stevens" qualifications? Does he actually have a doctorate in anything?

None of his supporters want to answer that question.
I wonder why?
Maybe he doesn't have a doctorate in anything.
But then how honest is it for him to call himself "Dr."?

[Fledermaus]

57. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Clip #3 Goldie explains it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=hzta9XU-CEA

[bananas]

59. She's great, I love her!

Thanks for the video clips!

[txlibdem]

11. 1 gram of thorium equals the energy of 7,500 gallons (28,391 L) of gasoline.

If Mr. Stevens fails to produce this vehicle then someone will. Eventually.

[joshcryer]

16. Thermodynamics don't work like that, to extract the energy in 1 gram of thorium...

...requires a very sophisticated setup that cannot fit in a car, ever. Perhaps a truck could do it, a train is certainly plausible, but not a car, by any stretch.

[wtmusic]

19. A cube of Polonium-210 an inch on each side could power a minivan

for six months using an RTG. Smaller sources powered Voyager and Pioneer expeditions for years.

Thorium won't work in an RTG, but theories of limits for compactness have a really shitty track record.

[Terry in Austin]

13. Car, hell. Where's my damn jetpack!?

Doesn't this guy know it's going to be the future pretty soon?

Oh yeah, he's a little late delivering the robot housemaid, too...

B-)

[Fledermaus]

17. What is the external source? " thorium is heated by an external source"

[txlibdem]

22. The article said it was a laser

They get pretty hot. Lasers that is.

[kristopher]

23. It's a scam.

And an obvious one at that.

[txlibdem]

29. Who knows if it is a scam or not. More study is needed at the very least.

My mind is not closed nor immediately sealed off with a coal and natural gas-filled wall when the topic turns to any kind of nuclear power.

Too bad that a closed mind can never see the world as it truly is. I feel sorry for the folks who wear the fossil fuels blinders their whole lives.

[The Croquist]

38. This will piss you off kristopher

I agree. It is a scam.

[Fledermaus]

25. What do the lasers run on? Double A batteries?

It reads like a perpetual motion scam. :)

[txlibdem]

28. How does an internal combustion engine start up, what does it run on?

It's just a hunk of steel and plastic... how can an on-going cycle of a series of explosions, precisely timed, to keep this pollution spewing, toxic liquid fuel vehicle work???

:dunce: The internal combustion engine reads like a perpetual motion scam :dunce:

[wtmusic]

42. Give up. If it involves radiation, he's hiding under the bed. nt

[txlibdem]

45. You mean like the radiation that spews out of coal plants, coats the drill pipes for oil, nat gas

If this poster is truly afraid of radiation they should be chaining themselves to the gates of coal plants, form a human blockade in front of fossil drilling operations or refineries, or fight to force the coal ash pits that are now open to the air, wind and rain to take better precautions with the radioactive material and the 20+ other toxic chemicals.

[Fledermaus]

47. I want this post to live forever! Nuclear quackery at its best.

[txlibdem]

48. Your lack of knowledge does not "quackery" make... n/t

[bananas]

51. Good idea - let's keep it kicked! nt

[Fledermaus]

53. I wonder when we will get an explanation?

[kristopher]

54. I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Fledermaus]

67. I like their web page, but I think they could use some of your help.

http://laserpowersystems.galacticmassive.com/index.php?option=com_user&view=login&return=aHR0cDovL2xhc2VycG93ZXJzeXN0ZW1zLmNvbS8=

[NickB79]

39. While it may be theoretically possible, it won't be invented by this guy

Charles Stevens is a certified quack, simply based on the background kristopher posted earlier in the thread.

[NickB79]

40. If it is possible, why use it for cars? Start big and use it for power plants

Build a fission-less thorium reactor and power cities with it.

That is, if it's even possible.

[SpoonFed]

55. Wait wait wait...

If it is even possible, start by powering the new fangled Japanese floating cities!

(The stuff I miss by being logged in with an ignore list, is incredible!)

[Fledermaus]

56. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Clip #6 Goldie explains it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=4b7BGBa6MTI

[txlibdem]

61. Your jokes are great. Keep them coming. Here's one for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQmnWj6bJh4&feature=related

[SpoonFed]

62. You don't need a youtube link...

you just need to end the subject line with n/t
and a blank body.

[Fledermaus]

68. I was hoping for an explanation!?!?!?

[SpoonFed]

71. Can you get a PHD in Fluff? n/t

[madokie]

73. I've been wondering where you were hanging out

I'd love to see thorium used if its as they say it is, safe

ETA: And then I look at the date. :facepalm: