5 Insane Sci-Fi Ideas Of The Space Age

1. Nuclear Powered Cars

1280px Concept Mars Colony
Ford

Cars have been the primary method of transportation in the first world for nearly 100 years. They have been upgraded and improved with every iteration that automobile manufacturers develop. Today, electric cars seem to be the future, but in the past, much like many things of the era, cars were heading towards the nuclear path.

With the invention of the atomic bomb and development of nuclear technologies, the atomic era of the 1950s came into full swing. Scientists, businesses, and governments alike viewed atomic energy as the future. Nowhere was this vision more clear than in car manufacturing.

Companies like Ford began work on their nuclear projects, with Ford's development of the "Nucleon" being featured prominently in 1958 as concept of these future nuclear cars. The vehicle swapped combustion engines for nuclear reactors, envisioning they would become smaller and safer in time for the car to be created. However, Ford soon after scrapped plans for the car and because of the risks of radiation and impracticality of nuclear reactors, nuclear powered automobiles became yet another vision from the past.

Today, we continue to advance in nuclear energy and technology but we are still years, or decades from the visions of the atomic era.

Contributor

Ryan Geller is a freelance journalist who writes news, politics, gaming, and more. He is dedicated to the goal of unbiased journalism and independent thinking.