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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
K. Nishimura, K. Takatsuka, M. Matsuyama, N. Noda, M. Tanaka
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 4 | November 2011 | Pages 1503-1506
Interaction with Materials | Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A12717
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Hydrogen isotope retention and its removal in/from a plasma-facing wall and structural materials have been recognized as key issues for fusion reactor from the viewpoints of operational safety and environmental preservation. Baking and/or a glow discharge are possible effective methods to remove hydrogen isotopes from materials. To investigate the absorption and desorption characteristics of hydrogen isotopes in structural materials, a glow discharge apparatus with twin chambers (Glow-1, 2) made with stainless steel was provided. The sample tip can be moved between the Glow-1 chamber and Glow-2 chamber without exposing it to the air. The controlled infrared (IR) heating device was installed in the Glow-1 chamber to heat the sample tip. Results of absorption and desorption by glow discharge, and the thermal desorption by IR heating are analyzed. No oxides of hydrogen isotopes were observed in these experiments. Most gases are retained near the solid surface and are desorbed at a low temperature below 150 °C. The activation energy was estimated to be about 50 kJ/mol.