"breeder" reactor may create fissionable material supply
TRANSCRIPT
the Library of Congress during 10-47.
"Breeder" Reactor Hay Create Fissionable Material Supply
JL KO<;KI:SS was reported by the Atomic Energy Commission on a new method which would have the effect of expanding by several hundred t imes the supply of fissionable material through a ' 'breeder" type of reactor. Over a period of time t his nuclear chain reactor will actually create more hssionahle material than is put into the reactor as fuel to sustain the reaction.
•This method was discussed in the Atomic Energy Commission's third semiannual report, an inventory of progress in the iields of weapons, basic and applied research, atomic power, medical and biological developments, security provisions, and production aims, which was delivered to Congress recently.
The word fuel, when used in this connection by AIX\ denotes the fissionable material put into the reactor as the source of energy and the source of neutrons on which the fission process depends. Thti material put into the reactor for conversion into fissionable material is known as fertile material. The fuel is consumed through fission, which at the same time may create new fissionable material from the fertile material as a result of the. absorption, of neutrons.
The significance of t h e "'breeder" type of reactor is directly related to questions of the stores of uranium and thorium in the earth's surface and the problems of their recovery and use».
Because of the relationship between the rate of reproduction of fuel in a breeder and the power of the reactor, the development of breeders and reactors for power will go hand in hand.
Designs Dervlopcflfor Higli Temperature Reactors
One of the most important phases of rest-arch is that directed toward improving methods for separation and purification of fissionable material, especially plutonium, and on a system for the recovery of fuel materials from reactors. Sufficient progress has been made to permit the design of medium high temperature reactors using various coolants with several variations in the moderator. These reactors may be operated at temperatures high enough to produce power on an experimental basis. One of such should be in operation by 1!)50, and perhaps earlier.
Construction was s tar ted this year on a uranium, graphite-moderated, air cooled reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It should be in operation within a year. Other new type reactors (unspecified) are under design at the Argon ne National Laboratory, the Knolls Atomic
Power Laboratory, and the Clinton National Laboratory at Oak Ridge.
Hopes Private Intlnstry H ill Develop .Ye te Reserves
Deposits of very low-grade ore have been discovered as a result of the M a n h a t tan Engineer District program of exploration in many parts of the United States. The utilization of these deposits, however, depends upon the solution of complex research and industrial problems. The commission is of the opinion that these new-reserves can best be developed by competitive private industry, but in order to determine the most efficient methods of ore extraction and boneficiation, the AEC has purchased the vanadium plant at Monti cello, T i ah, for experimentation. After an ore stockpile has been accumulated, the operation of ot her plants in that area will be encouraged.
A raw materials office has been opened at Grand Junction, Colo., where a new office building will be constructed.
fst> topes Available to Collets. Ltiborti tories
Since t h e commission considi-rs it to be of vital importance to make isotopes avail able to qualified users at the lowest possible cost, nearly 2,000 shipments of radioactive isotopes have been made from the isotoj>es division at Oak Ridge since August 194(5, more than 1,600 of them within the past year. Close to 100 different kinds an* available. Of the 100 types of stable isotopes, some 200 shipments were made in HM7. Twenty varieties, particularly isotopes considered most important for biological and medical research, are now being made available in limited quantit ies ' to foreign laboratories and medical research groups. At the end of 1047 the commission had made 20 shipments to foreign users in Argentina, Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.
To date, as the result of requests received, the commission has approved future distribution to Belgium, Canada, Cuba, France, Ireland, I ta ly , the Netherlands, New Zealand. Peru, Sweden, and the Union of South Africa.
Declassified Documents Spread .Atomic Energy Information
A system for providing information on atomic energy to the scient ific and technical community has been developed extensively during the past year- Nearly 1,700 individual declassified documents were distributed to project laboratories, government agencies, and 150 depositories of
They were also made available to t he public through t hi* OTS of the Department of Commerce. About 102,000 copies were circulated.
Progress was made toward completion of the National Nuclear Energy Series, a 110-volume compilation of scientific treat ises based primarily on research in the field of atomic energy conducted under government auspices. By the year 's end, material for six volumes had been declassified ami prepared for reproduction and public sale. An additional 20 volumes are ready for reproduction and distribution within the project.
Weapon Production on Assembly Line Scale
In the weapon field the AEC is trying to convert the production system from " the unit fabricat ion of a laboratory device to a different scale of weapon production." For longer-term ojx>ration* it was found necessary to establish a much broader base for operations than the one used during the war when atomic weapons produced were literally laboratory products.
The period when nuclear energ,y can make a significant cont ribution to t he suj>ply of power now available from other sources is still years away. According to the semiannual report , it will take from S to 10 years to overcome the technical difficulties and have a useful, practical demonstration plant in operation. Even under the most favorable, circumstances, it cont inucd, it will be about- 20 years before the present power supply of the world can be derived from nuclear fuel.
.\ationivide Program of La bora t firy Con s t rit ** t ion
During the past year an over-all plan to assure the common defense and security, as defined in the Atomic Energy Act, has been carried out by 1 he A E C A proving ground was established on Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific, improvement of the ITanford plant- for plutonium production was s ta r ted in the fall of the year, and a Division of Biology and Medicine es tablished. Also, production of radioisotope's at the Clinton National Laboratory made possible a nationwide program of tracer research in many fields.
Construction will get under way in 19-1S on the two new national laboratory es tablishments: Argonne, in DePage County outside Chicago, and Brookhaven, on the site of the former Camp Upton at Patchouge, Long Island.
Actual construction of the Argonne National Laboratory is scheduled to begin in the spring of li)4S, and the entire installation is scheduled for completion in 1950.
The major portion of expenditures of the atomic energy program has been for production operations. About 70r<. of construction expenditures and about S0r'eof operation expenditures were for production.
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