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INL reports findings on unusual quantum behavior of plutonium
Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that plutonium hexaboride (PuB6) displays a type of unusual quantum property called a topological Kondo insulating state. Materials with this property are neither typical electricity conductors nor regular insulators. Rather, they have exterior surfaces that strongly conduct electricity and interiors that block electricity.
Josef Butsch, Franz-Hermann Schlüter, Josef Eibl
Nuclear Technology | Volume 111 | Number 3 | September 1995 | Pages 426-436
Technical Paper | A New Light Water Reactor Safety Concept Special / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A15871
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A feasibility study has been performed for a light water reactor containment able to resist even severe accidents by passive means. Upper-bound design loads have been considered for all physically possible scenarios after a core-melt accident as determined by Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The essential layout of this containment is presented. Based on the main system features of a German 1300-MW Convoy reactor type, internal static pressure, hydrogen detonation, failure of the pressure vessel under high pressure, and steam explosion, respectively, have been regarded as well as such external loads as an airplane crash, earthquake, gas explosion, and so forth. The containment can remove the decay heat by purely passive means, and it is believed that the design can be realized at reasonable costs.