Word
thorium
Phoneticstho·ri·um
US/ˈθɑɹiəm/
UK/θˈɔːɹiəm/
Definition
n. a heavy, radioactive metal that is found in nature. It is similar to uranium and can be used to create energy in special types of nuclear reactors.
n. a radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It is a fertile material that can be converted into fissile uranium-233 within a nuclear reactor.
Examples
“Scientists are studying thorium as a safer alternative to uranium.”
“Unlike traditional uranium reactors, molten salt reactors can utilize thorium to produce energy with less long-lived radioactive waste.”
“The abundance of thorium in the Earth's crust makes it a potentially significant resource for future nuclear energy production, though its commercial deployment remains limited by current technological constraints.”
Examples
simple
“Scientists are studying thorium as a safer alternative to uranium.”
contextual
“Unlike traditional uranium reactors, molten salt reactors can utilize thorium to produce energy with less long-lived radioactive waste.”
complex
“The abundance of thorium in the Earth's crust makes it a potentially significant resource for future nuclear energy production, though its commercial deployment remains limited by current technological constraints.”
Etymology
From Thor + -ium.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/thorium