New Publications are available for Nuclear physics
http://dl-live.theiet.org
New Publications are available now online for this publication.
Please follow the links to view the publication.The twenty-seventh Kelvin Lecture. “The transmutation of matter by high-energy particles and radiations”
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/jiee-1.1936.0190
Electro-physics
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/jiee-1.1936.0033
Rapid heating for controlled fusion research
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0027
The reasons for seeking a means of rapidly heating a plasma to thermonuclear temperatures are discussed, and it is suggested that shock compression by a rapidly increased magnetic field is a possible method. The problems of producing and maintaining such fields are considered, and it is concluded that capacitor discharge banks with the minimum inductance are required for both phases. Finally, the design of low-inductance condenser banks is discussed and it is suggested that the maximum rate of current rise attainable with presently available materials is about 10<sup xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">14</sup> amp/sec.The basic physics of thermonuclear process
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0002
The paper states density and temperature requirements for which a radiation-cooled ionized plasma could yield a net power gain from fusion reactions in deuterium or deuterium-tritium mixtures. Containment of the plasma by electric or magnetic fields is shown to be essential, and the behaviour of the plasma in such fields is discussed.Magnetic mirror fields are discussed briefly, and an attempt is made to list the forms of wave motion which can occur in such a plasma. Some features of the self-pinched discharge are stated and the stability conditions for a possible model of such a pinched discharge are outlined. Attention is drawn to some experimental results tending to invalidate assumptions used in the theoretical formulation.Studies of trapping fast charged particles in a constant magnetic field
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0014
Nuclear energy from controlled thermonuclear reaction
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/jiee-3.1959.0224
The modification of Zeta in 1958
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0011
Modifications have been carried out on Zeta to improve performance of the equipment in scientific and engineering aspects. These comprise installation of a stainless-steel bellows liner in the torus, ignitron switching and simplification of the pulse circuit, and improved vacuum pumping, stabilizing field and diagnostic facilities. The machine, now known as Zeta 1A, is again in operation and further experiments are in progress.The application of digital computers to nuclear-reactor design
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-b-1.1958.0304
The paper reviews the main computational problems arising in the design of a nuclear power reactor. The numerical-mathematical methods available are described briefly in two broad classes, namely the discrete-particle (Monte Carlo) treatment of the neutron-transport problems and the analytical methods based on the transport equation. The use of digital computers in the different methods is discussed in general terms and three examples are considered in more detail: the calculation of the thermal utilization factor for a lattice by the spherical harmonics method, the direct numerical solution of the 2-group diffusion equations for a cylindrical reactor and the calculation by Monte Carlo methods of the resonance escape probability for a graphite-uranium lattice. Finally there is a discussion of the standard of performance of computers likely to be required by nuclear engineers.The design and performance of Zeta
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0003
The paper describes the main design parameters of the pinched-ring discharge apparatus Zeta, the principal observations made with it during the period up to April, 1958, and the deductions on the physical phenomena occurring in the hot gas. Discharge pulses of up to 200 kA have been passed through deuterium. The pinched current channel has a resistance of about 3 milliohms and an inductance of about 4 <i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">μ</i>H. The power input corresponds to the magnetically confined gas losing its kinetic thermal energy every 100 microsec. Energies of tracer impurity ions measured spectroscopically correspond to temperatures of 5×10<sup xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">6</sup>deg K. Electron temperatures estimated from the resistance, microwave noise and spectroscopic intensities are in the range 1–5×10<sup xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">5</sup>deg K. The greater temperature of the ions could be due to macroscopic motion of the gas.A review of work towards nuclear energy from controlled thermonuclear reactions
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0093
Sceptre IIIA
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0004
The toroidal discharge apparatus Sceptre III has been modified and is now known as Sceptre III A; the modification included new magneticfield coils and improved measurement facilities. The paper reviews the experimental results which have been obtained with Sceptre III A.The evidence of many of the measurements suggests that the large electron-energy loss associated with this type of discharge is caused by an electron-particle loss to the tube walls. If this is correct, the observed Doppler broadening and Doppler shift of the ion spectral lines have simple explanations. A mechanism is suggested for the electron-particle loss.Thermonuclear research in the United States of America
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0013
Physical measurements on heavy-current discharges
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-a.1959.0005
An understanding of heavy-current discharges entails extensive measurement of the plasma. A review is given of some measurements with particular reference to the thermonuclear apparatus Sceptre III, although one of the categories of measurement is applicable to any hot gas containing deuterium. Emphasis is placed on instrumentation and on the physical basis of measurement. Limitations of and improvements to the methods and the modifications to be anticipated when the plasma temperature rises are indicated. Results of measurements not previously published, such as those on discharge stability and energy loss, are included. Although few of the measurements are completely reliable, several independent methods of measurement can yet provide a self-consistent and hence more trustworthy result. New methods of measurement are desirable to extend the present range.Temperature transients in gas-cooled thermal nuclear reactors
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/pi-b-1.1958.0305
The paper examines the transient behaviour of the Calder Hall type of reactor in terms of the design and operating parameters, the main transients examined being those arising from(<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">a</i>) Step changes in reactivity.(<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">b</i>) Steady changes in reactivity including the start-up condition.(<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">c</i>) Step changes in cooling.(<i xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/">d</i>) Steady and other changes in cooling due to both circulator-speed and gas-pressure changes.The examination has been carried out by means of an analogue computer and by a graphical method which employs an approximate solution of the neutron-kinetic equations. The results obtained by the two methods are compared and agreement is shown to be good.The graphical method has been extended to take account of temperature gradients within the fuel elements and fission-product heating. Account is also taken in the computations of the heat generated in the graphite.The effects of non-uniformity in the axial and radial temperature distribution on the temperature transient throughout the reactor are examined and assessed.It is concluded that the graphical method is useful for studying the transient characteristics of a reactor, but, owing to the importance and complexity of the subject, experimental confirmation of the predicted results is desirable.Computers in nuclear-reactor design
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/jiee-3.1958.0111
Temperature transients in nuclear reactors
http://dl-live.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/jiee-3.1958.0112