Q119
General SciencePhysics
Which of the following elements, available adequately in India, can be used to produce the nuclear power?
- a.Actinium
- b.Neptunium
- c.Copper
- d.Thorium
Answer: (D) Thorium
India has small uranium reserves but some of the world's largest reserves of thorium, found in the monazite sands of the Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts. Thorium-232 is 'fertile': in a reactor it absorbs a neutron and turns into fissile uranium-233. Homi Bhabha's three-stage nuclear programme is built around this: Stage 1, pressurised heavy water reactors using natural uranium; Stage 2, fast breeder reactors using plutonium (Kalpakkam); Stage 3, thorium-based reactors. Actinium and neptunium are scarce radioactive elements not available in quantity, and copper is not a nuclear fuel. Uranium is mined at Jaduguda (Jharkhand) and Tummalapalle (Andhra Pradesh).