Which is why Thorium isn't widely used.
It is superior to uranium in every way.
Except one.
It is much less inefficient when it comes to making weapons grade material.
All I can do is just shake my head.
Yep....”weapons grade” for that element is U232. Army fooled around with it for a while in the early 50’s. I think they did a few tests out in Nevada. Just didn’t work out.
U232 is a gamma emitter which required too many modifications and shielding....tended to screw up the bomb’s internal circuits and was too toxic to deal with.
In a LFTR reactor, U232 is screened out in the reactor’s waste separators (along with other waste materials). It’s then stored at a shielded waste center. As a side benefit, many of the waste materials can reprocessed into other items such as medical isotopes.
Once upon a time (still within living memory), we needed one more than we needed the other. Now, at least (if I understand the process right), we can effectively reverse history, and use the one as fuel for the other.