/sci/ - Science & Math

>>8009304
We can totally use all the Uranium/Thorium fuel type up on earth relatively quickly (few hundred years if we just use it like we want). But that assumes we use more typical nuclear reactor setups.

However, there are special types of reactors called breeders, which as a byproduct turn regular Uranium/Thorium (and other things like plutonium) into the fuel type of Uranium/Thorium. This would increase the usable fuel amount by orders of magnitude and could arguably out last our sun by a little bit if managed correctly. But these are more expensive as very few have been built, and they easily can make huge amounts of high grade fuel (aka "weapons grade"), which is great for powering cities or blowing them up.

With these we could turn our nuclear weapons into massively huge energy reserves. Or turn out new energy reserves from low grade materials into even more weapons.

>I assume the government needs them for aliens, as we can blow up the surface of the planet several times over already.