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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.
George H. Miley
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 21 | Number 3 | March 1965 | Pages 357-368
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE65-A20039
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An asymptotic velocity of (18.79 ± 0.32) × 103 cm/sec is reported for the propagation of a TRIGA reactor neutron pulse through a 4 ft × 4 ft × 5.8 ft graphite thermal column. Interpretation in terms of a proposed theory yields Dv = (2.34 ± 0.02) × 105cm2/sec for 1.60 g/cm3 graphite. The propagation velocity was found to be independent of reactivity inserted in the range covered by experiment (to 2.90 dollars). Also, the pulse shape was preserved with an amplitude attenuation length equal to that for the steady-state thermal flux. These results are attributed to the fact that the neutron lifetime in the column was shorter than the pulse width and period. Calculations are presented for the reverse situation where the pulse shape is distorted. Pulse measurements with a Boral curtain lowered into the column are used to test the theory for situations where the slowing-down density is important.