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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
J. N. Anno
Nuclear Technology | Volume 2 | Number 5 | October 1966 | Pages 371-378
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT66-A27613
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experiments performed at the Battelle Research Reactor indicate that the output of electrical components is influenced by a radiation environment in several ways. Gamma radiation produces electron emission from metals, varying from 0.38 × 10−16 A/cm2per R/h for aluminum to 6.1 × 10−16 A/cm2 per R/h for uranium. The gammas also ionize residual gas in the experiment test section and produce heating in the components. Thermal neutrons affect electrical components principally through reactions leading to the emission of beta particles. Fast neutrons and electrons (from various sources) sputter atoms from the surface of materials. The resistance of insulators may be drastically altered in a radiation field, principally by photoconduction. The magnitude of several of these effects of radiation is illustrated by a simple inpile experiment.