Dreams of Nuclear-Powered Cars Enchanted Cold War America, Yet the Technology Remained Unviable

Photo credit: www.smithsonianmag.com

In today’s automotive landscape, consumers are presented with a variety of options including gasoline-powered, electric, and hybrid vehicles. However, had the optimistic minds of the 1950s succeeded, nuclear-powered cars might have graced the streets alongside these conventional choices.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, amidst increasing interest in the peaceful applications of atomic energy in the United States, several prominent car manufacturers unveiled prototypes for nuclear-powered vehicles. Notable designs included the Ford Nucleon and the Studebaker-Packard Astral, as well as the Seattle-ite XXI.

The concept of nuclear-powered cars suggested that vehicles could potentially operate for thousands of miles without the need for refueling, with imaginative designs even proposing flying capabilities. However, significant obstacles hindered their development. The most pressing issue was the absence of a compact nuclear reactor suitable for automotive use. Additionally, calculations indicated that a vehicle would require substantial shielding from radiation, resulting in an impractically heavy automobile, estimated to weigh around 50 tons—over 25 times heavier than a standard car. There were also unresolved concerns surrounding the management of nuclear waste produced by such vehicles.

Due to these unresolved challenges, interest in nuclear cars waned, but the prototypes still provide a fascinating insight into an era of bold innovation.

The emergence of the Astral and the Ford Nucleon

By the 1950s, the notion of nuclear-powered vehicles had already captured the imaginations of science fiction enthusiasts. References to “atomobiles” appeared as early as 1928 in pulp magazines, and appeared later in comic books like the Boy Commandos series from DC Comics, which featured such vehicles as the “fastest machine on land, on sea, and in the air.” Some literary characters, including Tom Swift Jr., even sported atomic vehicles in stories directed at young audiences.

As manufacturers began to capitalize on these ideas, the Studebaker Astral made its debut at the South Bend Arts Center in Indiana in January 1958, followed by a showcase at the International Automobile Show in New York City that April. The Astral was a mock-up designed to balance on a single wheel stabilized by a gyroscope, envisioned to run on atomic energy derived from either its own core or power channeled from external sources. Curator Kyle Sater notes that the design even proposed generating a protective force field around the vehicle, alleviating fears of catastrophic accidents.

Though it never became operational, the Astral toured car shows and eventually found a permanent home in the Studebaker National Museum, where it continues to attract attention as a precursor to the famed flying cars from “The Jetsons.”

The Ford Nucleon generated significant public interest when it was revealed a month later in February 1958, with Newsweek speculating it might represent the future of automotive technology. Unlike the Astral, Ford produced a three-eighths scale model of the Nucleon, which was conceptualized to be about 17 feet long. The model featured a “power capsule” containing a radioactive core, which designers claimed could be recharged after 5,000 miles at specially designated stations, potentially revolutionizing fuel replenishment practices.

Ford acknowledged the model’s impracticality at the time, citing that advancements in technology might eventually diminish the size and weight of nuclear reactors relevant to automotive use. The Nucleon prototype is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan, and is currently on loan to the Atomic Museum in Las Vegas.

The decline of nuclear automobile aspirations

The ambition to create nuclear vehicles was not confined to American manufacturers. In 1958, a French company introduced the Arbel Symétric, which was intended to utilize nuclear waste. Meanwhile, Soviet claims of having developed a nuclear vehicle as early as 1955 did not resonate with the same enthusiasm in the West.

In 1962, Ford unveiled the Seattle-ite XXI at the Seattle World’s Fair, featuring an eye-catching six-wheeled design and proposals for propulsion through either fuel cells or a compact nuclear reactor. Like its predecessors, the Seattle-ite was only a scale model representing futuristic possibilities rather than a functional car, as acknowledged by Ford’s promotional literature.

The Seattle-ite marked the conclusion of the 20th century’s brief enthusiasm for nuclear-powered cars, with the technology simply not being feasible for widespread application at the time. Conversely, substantial investments in nuclear technology during the Cold War yielded operational innovations in other sectors, such as the commissioning of the first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, in 1954, and the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, in 1961.

Prospects for nuclear vehicles today

Over six decades later, the dream of driving a nuclear-powered car remains unrealized. Experts suggest that while incorporating a reactor into a vehicle may now be technically possible, the challenges of necessary shielding and cost remain prohibitive. According to Jacopo Buongiorno, director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems at MIT, the expense of a nuclear vehicle would be roughly 100 times that of a conventional model.

However, nuclear energy could still impact the automotive industry indirectly. Currently, it generates around 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S., providing power for electric vehicle charging. Moreover, nuclear energy could contribute to cleaner fuel production by facilitating the generation of hydrogen from water, enabling fuel cells to power vehicles. Additionally, synthetic fuels derived from hydrogen and carbon dioxide could offer a carbon-neutral alternative to traditional fuels.

Thus, while the vision of a nuclear-powered car like those envisioned in the 1950s may not materialize, the influence of nuclear energy in enabling cleaner and more efficient transportation options remains a distinct possibility for the future.

Source
www.smithsonianmag.com