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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.
R. C. Anderson, C. A. Erdman, A. B. Reynolds
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 88 | Number 4 | December 1984 | Pages 495-512
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE84-A18368
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Droplet size distributions from the bulk flashing of 50°C superheated water were measured experimentally. The distributions were lognormal, with a geometric mean droplet diameter Dg of 124 µm and a geometric standard deviation σg of 1.30. Measured droplet size distributions at 40 and 30°C superheat were also lognormal, but the values for Dg and σg were not sufficiently reproducible to compare to the 50°C superheat results. Flashing occurred from a 16.4-ml chamber through a 19-mm-diam opening. The door opening time was 1.6 ms. Measurements were made by collecting droplets containing blue dye on paper mounted on a rotating bicycle wheel. Spot sizes were correlated with droplet sizes using neutron activation analysis by adding samarium nitrate to the water and activating the samarium. Measurements of pressure, temperature, and expansion velocity during the flashing process were made and compared with calculated values with moderately good agreement. Exploratory calculations of maximum droplet diameters based on the critical Weber number (aerodynamic fragmentation) were made with results within a factor of 2 or 3 of the measured values.