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By: Vincent Iacono
Ford Nucleon
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The Ford Nucleon was designed not to have an internal-combustion engine within it. In fact, Bellows (2006) and Wikipedia (1998) state that it was intended to have a small nuclear fission reactor in the rear of the car. The nuclear fission reactor was planned to work like a mini submarine reactor (Bellows 2006). The Ford Motor Company (1998) declared that the reactor would be located in rear of the vehicle. It was designed to use Uranium fission, which would create heat that would in turn super-heat water, which would generate steam. This steam would turn the turbines and would generate electricity for the car to move, the steam would then be condensed into water to restart the process. These engines could work as long as they had a source of uranium as fuel. According to the Ford Motor Company (1998) the reactor was an interchangeable unit that could be changed or modified at any time. The reactor would have a radioactive core that would have to be handled very delicately. Bellows (2006), Wikipedia (2007) and the Ford Motor Company (1998) all concur that the engineers of the era envisioned recharging stations, where old reactors could be swapped for new ones, would eventually replace gas stations. These reactors would be suited to different people’s needs, and would vary depending on the driver’s needs and the distance to be travelled.
The reason why the Ford Nucleon received so much attention was because of its unique energy source. According to Bellows (2006), it was the most energy-efficient car ever built. Depending on the type of reactor, it was estimated that the Ford Nucleon would be able to drive up to and exceeding 5,000 miles a charge (Ford Motor Company 1998). Since there was no combustion unit in the car, the automobile would have been virtually silent, an idea relished by many at the time. Unlike the pollution problems of today, the Ford Nucleon did not emit any harmful vapors to the environment, other then radiation, which is controllable (Bellows 2006).
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At the time (1950) Nuclear power was a big concept for the world, and this Atomic energy had the potential to give clean, safe, and cheap power to the entire world. The Ford Nucleon was a nuclear-powered concept car built by the Ford Motor Company. A 3/8 scale of the Ford Nucleon was unveiled in 1957 by Ford. According to Bellows (2006) the Nucleon concept was received with a great amount of enthusiasm from the public.
The Ford Nucleon was the icon of the Atomic Age (1950s). According to the 3/8 scale of the Nucleon released by Ford in 1958, the Nucleon had tail fins and had a sleek, futuristic look to it. The car resembled a space-ship, and was the inspiration for the De Lorean in the movie “Back to the Future”. The windshield was one piece of glass, and did not have any pillars, but curved around the door. The roof was built in the same manner as a cantilever, and air intakes were made on the edge and base of the roof (Ford Motor Company 1998).
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Ford never produced a working proto-type of the Nucleon. The naïve optimism of the public at the time led to misunderstanding of nuclear power, and, when the dangers of atomic energy became fully aware to the public, the Nucleon project was abandoned. According to the Ford Motor Company (1998), one of the reasons why the Nucleon was never built was because the design had depended on the development of lighter reactors, and better shielding from the reactor. The slightest accident, like a fender-bender, could result in a major melt-down, and become a radioactive disaster.