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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.
J. J. Karnes, N. M. Petta, J. E. Streit
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 472-476
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A7429
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To produce foam capsule fusion energy targets with smoother surfaces, we have combined two previously reported resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) aerogel synthesis techniques. Using this new hybrid process, we have successfully produced aerogel spheres that are coated in situ with a smooth submicron-thick skin. The surface roughness of these spheres is compared to the conventionally synthesized RF capsules. We also illustrate the microscopic surface morphology of the new and traditional techniques. We propose that this new approach to capsule synthesis be investigated further as a target candidate; both the enhanced smoothness and the altered surface morphology make for a more desirable coating substrate.