Dr. Homi J. Bhabha Scientist's dream of infinity ♾️ fuel for the Bharat ( India).

It's incredible that energy is being obtained from the soil, literally nature has blessed mankind with ample of resources that easily can meet the needs of technogical advancing generation. The observations skills along with the innovative methodology and scientific knowledge has added jewel to the energy reactors of the Bharat. 

Highly obliged to the vision of Homi Bhabha, the architect of India's atomic energy programme, that India is a world leader in thorium research and development. He died in a plane crash in 1966 aged 56, but had already laid the foundations for a research programme that is now beginning to bear fruit. 

Bharat's government-controlled nuclear power industry, usually met with the arguments in the past for lack of transparency and inadequate safety oversight. But it has been appreciated around the world. Bharat has the most technically ambitious and innovative nuclear energy program in the world. 

The presently running reactor that uses uranium  isn't a 'perfect stove', and burns only a small proportion of the highest quality fuel, leaving a lot of 'cinder'. Mankind prefers a better stove that can burn more fuel and generates infinite energy. 

Vision of Bharat about Thorium :- 

Thorium is a silvery, slightly radioactive metal commonly found in igneous rocks and heavy mineral sands. It was named after Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. India has a unique position in the world, in terms of availability of nuclear fuel resource. It has a limited resource of uranium but a large resource of thorium. The beach sands of Kerala and Orissa have rich reserves of monazite, which contains about 8 – 10% thorium. 

It is stated and assumed that approximately 30% of the Indian electricity in 2050 will be generated from thorium based reactors. Indian nuclear scientists estimate that the country could produce 500 GW for at least four centuries using just the country's economically extractable thorium reserves. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has been planning the use of large deposits of Thorium available in the country as a long-term option. A three-stage nuclear power programme has been chalked out to use Thorium as a viable and sustainable option, right at the inception of India’s nuclear power programme.

Endeavours to make a reality the infinite fuel:- 

It is hard to build a nuclear reactor using Thorium (Thorium-232) alone due to its physics characteristics. Thorium has to be modified to Uranium-233 in a reactor before it can be used as fuel. Evolving and advancing the technologies pertaining to utilisation of thorium has been a part of ongoing activities in Department of Atomic Energy. With consistent efforts over the years, our Bharat has gained experience in different areas of Thorium fuel cycle. Scientists and engineers are currently working on, to enlarge the present Thorium related R&D work and activities to a bigger scale and towards development of technologies for the third stage of our nuclear power programme. Safety has been accorded paramount importance in all Thorium technology development studies.

Commercial utilisation of Thorium, on a significant scale can begin only when abundant supplies of either Uranium-233 or Plutonium resources are available. Accordingly, the bulk scale starting up and utilization of Thorium in the programme has been observed for longer period after an adequate inventory of Plutonium becomes available from our Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs), comprising the second stage of Indian nuclear power programme. This will be after a few decades of large scale deployment of FBRs. In preparation for the utilisation of Thorium in Third Stage of India’s Nuclear Power Programme, efforts towards technology development and demonstration are made now so that a mature technology for Thorium utilisation is available in time.

Conclusion - 

As the size of our population and economy to trigger, energy demands are the highest in the world and it keeps on increasing, thus possessing serious challenges to Bharat's energy security. 

 Therefore, thorium is critical. Our major fiscal deficit is contributed to the energy imports all along. Thorium presents to us a unique opportunity to be energy self-sufficient.

We must move on the thorium path though it has no parallel anywhere else in the world.

The autonomous pursuit of our destiny or goals has been possible, thanks to the spirit of self-reliance ingrained by Homi Bhabha. The development of critical nuclear technologies in the face of technology denial regimes is no mean achievement.