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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.
D. R. Kingdon, A. A. Harms
Nuclear Technology | Volume 116 | Number 1 | October 1996 | Pages 1-8
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-A35307
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The average fuel pellet power ratio in a pellet-suspension core is investigated. This ratio relates the electric power required to sustain the pellet suspension to the electric power derivable from the fission process. For 2% enriched uranium in a suspending medium of helium gas, a power ratio >2 × 104 for a range of particle sizes is found. Comparable ratios of 1 × 104 for light water and 2 × 103 for liquid lead as suspending mediums are determined. For each fluid, the power ratio appears sufficiently favorable to warrant further investigation of such fission reactor cores