Talk:LFTR

I see one problem and one counter argument:

Thorium seems rarer on Mars than on Earth, as the isotopic measurement done show enriched regions at 1 ppm, while the Earth average is 6 ppm. However this is such early data that it's not all that useful, but it's hard to count on Thorium being readily available. IF we need to extract it from ores at just a few PPM the concentration work may be quite significant.

Regarding solar, it's really a question of the overall mass of the system and the cost of the elements. Solar now depends largely on silica, that is absurdly common, but in a very pure form and specific dopants , that are very difficult to produce. Perovskite solar cells, CH3NH3PbX3, where X is a halogen ion such as iodide, bromide or chloride are developing fast. All these elements are extremely common and are readily available on Mars.

There is no specific reason that a solar society will be energy poor. It's a low density energy source but I often take Quebec as an example: It's a fairly rich society that runs on solar evaporated water, that is also a very low concentration energy source (after all the energy isn't in the dam, it's in the reservoir). It's more constrained in some ways, but again, as I come from Quebec I live in an area where we routinely curtain our activities for entire seasons.

If the Martian storms are at least a bit predictable, farmers will farm around the weather, and not during the night, as they have always done.

As it is, we will see if these reactors get developed on Earth. Let's see if natural gas prices go up and give these reactors a market!