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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Breaking ground on a new approach to construction
The drive to Kairos Power’s reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it’s historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints controlling access to Atomic Energy Commission production facilities.
D. P. Wood, C. C. Byers, L. C. Osborn
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 8 | Number 6 | December 1960 | Pages 578-587
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE60-A25844
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Critical masses of 6-in. diameter cylinders of plutonium diluted in various volume ratios with steel, aluminum, thorium, air, and depleted uranium were determined. The cores were in 0, 2, 4.5, or 7.5-in. thick uranium reflectors and in 2, 4.5, or 7.5-in. thick thorium reflectors. From these data, the equivalent spherical critical masses of plutonium have been estimated. An appendix gives reflector savings of undiluted plutonium for a variety of materials.