How do you change thorium-234 to uranium-234?

Answer 1

You really can't do that because it's still the same atom. The 234 part is the amount of Protons the atom has. If the amount of Protons stays the same, then you still have the same atom. If the amount changes then you have a different atom.

By the way, I'm an 11 year old kid that just explained that to you.

answ2. The nature of an element is determined firstly by its chemistry, which is a function of the number of electrons in the shells. The number of the electrons will usually match the number of protons. If you pile in some more neutrons, then you have the same element, but a different isotope.

The origin of this question is perhaps in the recent discussions regarding Thorium reactors. [Instead of uranium ones.]

In principle, a small amount of U233 is added to Thorium, which with absorptions becomes U233, which is more fissile, thus releasing more heat and U233 for the process to continue.

One advantage of this particular process is that the radioactive components are held dissolved in a liquid such as lithium fluoride, and this hot fluid then passes through a heat exchanger which then drives turbines.

Hot fluoride liquids are very corrosive, and there remain many technical problems to be solved.

China and India are both investigating the Thorium process, for both have plenty of Thorium, and lack Uranium.

[The early nuclear power programmes were designed to produce material for military use in bombs. The power output was almost a by-product.]