Nuclear power

As the interest in nuclear power gets in the news one questions is often asked, that being, why does uranium fuel leave behind dangerous waste products. The answer lies in the fact that uranium comes in two types in nature and only one type is good for power plants. The type that is useful only represents less than one percent of naturally occurring uranium. The first step is to enrich this one percent up to five percent but that leaves the 95% left behind. When the reaction takes place and free neutrons start spinning around many smash into the 95% and change some of that into the undesirable waste. The use of thorium means there is no enrichment required and there is no left over stuff to create waste. Thorium is cheaper because it is more plentiful and there is no need to enrich. The country is now becoming a aware of the value of nuclear energy and the next step is to move away from uranium and to thorium. This way you use 100% of the fuel instead of only five percent.