Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the 1950s, as the Cold War was heating up and children were being urged to “duck and cover” from nuclear weapons, car companies seriously proposed powering their cars using lead-lined nuclear reactors. It seems like madness today, but while the world saw the threat of nuclear war, they also saw the seemingly limitless potential from nuclear power. Just how were these vehicles supposed to work and how far did they get to reality?
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Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine
quora.com/What-is-the-longest-time-a-submarine-can-remain-underwater-given-the-state-of-technology-today
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/sanders1/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon
yahoo.com/news/ford-nucleon-1957-nuclear-powered-112050842.html
gtspirit.com/2012/04/08/remarkable-cars-ford-nucleon-%e2%80%92-the-atomic-car
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard
forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/32428-57-studebaker-packard-astral
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Seattle-ite_XXI
Original Ford Seattle-ite XXI brochure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-20_Dyna-Soar
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Tremulis
cnet.com/roadshow/news/is-a-nuclear-powered-car-in-our-future
youtube.com/watch?v=ZLrt_38LR3A
#bigcar
In the 1950s, as the Cold War was heating up and children were being urged to “duck and cover” from nuclear weapons, car companies seriously proposed powering their cars using lead-lined nuclear reactors. It seems like madness today, but while the world saw the threat of nuclear war, they also saw the seemingly limitless potential from nuclear power. Just how were these vehicles supposed to work and how far did they get to reality?
To get early ad-free access to new videos, or your name at the end of my videos, please consider supporting me using Patreon from just $1 or 80p a month at patreon.com/bigcar
Support me using PayPal: paypal.com/paypalme/bigcartv
Big Car Merch (t-shirts, mugs): teespring.com/stores/bigcartv
Twitter: twitter.com/bigcartv
My second channel - Little Car: youtube.com/littlecar
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine
quora.com/What-is-the-longest-time-a-submarine-can-remain-underwater-given-the-state-of-technology-today
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/sanders1/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon
yahoo.com/news/ford-nucleon-1957-nuclear-powered-112050842.html
gtspirit.com/2012/04/08/remarkable-cars-ford-nucleon-%e2%80%92-the-atomic-car
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard
forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/32428-57-studebaker-packard-astral
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Seattle-ite_XXI
Original Ford Seattle-ite XXI brochure.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-20_Dyna-Soar
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Tremulis
cnet.com/roadshow/news/is-a-nuclear-powered-car-in-our-future
youtube.com/watch?v=ZLrt_38LR3A
#bigcar
