Sputnik

Here is a headline from Reuters on December 8, 2023. China starts up world's first fourth-generation nuclear reactor. Here is later announcement. China has announced the construction of a nuclear power plant that will be fuelled by liquid fuel based on molten thorium salt. The Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) has been engaged in research in this area since 2011 focusing on liquid fluoride-thorium reactors (LFTRs).Jul 31, 2024 This may be the nuclear wake up call that Sputnik was for the space race. For those too young to remember Sputnik was the name given to the first satellite launched into space in 1957 and it was the Russians that did it. This caused a near panic in the US and many were urged to study science and engineering. It led to the formation of NASA in 1958 and resulted in the US becoming the leader in space exploration. Will this get the attention of the West. China plans not only to build these reactors but to sell them on the world market.