ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
B. M. Abraham, H. E. Flotow, R. D. Carlson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 2 | Number 4 | July 1957 | Pages 501-512
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE57-A25415
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Suspensions of UO2 in NaK alloy are being studied as possible reactor fuels. Two loops have so far been constructed of one-half inch stainless steel tubing with a test volume of approximately 150 cc. The Mark I loop was operated for 400 hours between 450 and 600°C, while circulating a slurry of 4.3 volume % UO2 (36.0 weight per cent). The radioactive monitor indicated that the slurry was uniformly suspended at a flow rate of 2 ft/sec. It was found that above 500°C the UO2 dropped out of suspension, but was immediately resuspended when the temperature dropped below the critical value of 500°C. The effect was reversible and could not be eliminated even at the fastest flows. The Mark II loop incorporated a density measuring device in order to correlate the radioactivity monitor with the density of the slurry. It was found, as previously suspected, that when the counts reached maximum value the density also was a maximum, at the calculated value. One gram of powdered uranium metal added to the loop with the UO2 completely eliminated the settling above 500°C observed in the Mark I loop. There was no evidence for corrosion or erosion of the loop, and the particle size of UO2 was practically unchanged after operation at the high temperature. The UO2 could be resuspended immediately after prolonged settling.