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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.
M. Tomlinson, J. L. Smee, E. B. Winters, and M. C. Arneson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 26 | Number 4 | December 1966 | Pages 547-558
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE66-A18426
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The hydrogenated terphenyl mixture HB-40, which is of interest as a reactor coolant, has been irradiated in a loop in the NRX reactor under conditions simulating those that might pertain in an organic-cooled reactor. High Boiler decomposition products were removed by distillation and the recovered coolant was recycled to attain a stationary-state composition. Irradiation temperatures ranged from 250 to 375°C. Rates of coolant consumption and properties of the partly decomposed coolant mixture were determined. These are compared with the properties of the terphenyl coolant mixture, Santowax OM, irradiated under the same conditions. Important differences were noted between the properties of the stationary-state coolant mixtures and the properties of the starting materials. The HB-40 mixture appears suitable for use as a reactor coolant at temperatures up to at least 375°C. It has the advantage of remaining liquid under all conditions of use.