• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Archives

Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Critical reading – Proving the Principle

September 23, 2007 By Rod Adams

As part of my preparations for interviewing Ray Haroldsen, one of the pioneers from the National Reactor Testing Station near Idaho Falls, Idaho, I have been reading a fascinating history of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory titled Proving the Principle. (The link takes you to a site where you can download all of the chapters of the book as PDF files.)

As I was reading it, I came across a statement that made me pause. It was so troubling that I had to send back some feedback immediately, even though the book was published in 1999 and there might not be anyone checking the feedback in-box anymore.

Here is the sentence that surprised me, especially considering the publisher and the site where the book is hosted:

“Scientists soon found that they could strip the electrons or neutrons from certain atoms and bombard other elements with them. They built great machines – atom smashers – to find out what would happen when they fired streams of neutrons into various elements at high speed.”

Atom smashers – also known as particle accelerators – are enormously complex and expensive devices that often include miles of copper tubes and consume vast quantities of electricity. They were favorite toys of the physicists of the 1930’s, but they were NEVER used to accelerate neutrons. Since neutrons have no charge, they do not respond to the magnetic fields used in particle accelerators.

If you want to find out what would happen if you fire streams of high speed neutrons at various elements, all you have to do is put certain isotopes that decay with alpha emission near certain other isotopes that break apart and release neutrons if hit by an alpha particle. For his ground breaking experiments in atomic structure and artificial radiation, Fermi used radon mixed with beryllium sealed in a glass tube that was only a few inches long, not an accelerator that required vast resources.

Another great source of neutrons is a fission reactor, but the physicists of the 1930’s did not yet know about those.

Of course, you can use a particle accelerator to speed up protons or alpha particles to hit targets that then release neutrons, but why bother when there is a FAR cheaper and easier way to do it?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

Join Rod’s pronuclear network

Join Rod's pronuclear network by completing this form. Let us know what your specific interests are.

Recent Comments

  • Eino on Oil and gas opposition to consolidate interim spent fuel (CISF) storage facilities in Permian Basin
  • Rod Adams on Can prototype nuclear reactors be licensed in the US under current rules?
  • Rob Brixey on Can prototype nuclear reactors be licensed in the US under current rules?
  • Jon Grams on Oil and gas opposition to consolidate interim spent fuel (CISF) storage facilities in Permian Basin
  • Rod Adams on Oil and gas opposition to consolidate interim spent fuel (CISF) storage facilities in Permian Basin

Follow Atomic Insights

The Atomic Show

Atomic Insights

Recent Posts

Oil and gas opposition to consolidate interim spent fuel (CISF) storage facilities in Permian Basin

Atomic Energy Wells

Enough with “renewables!”

Can prototype nuclear reactors be licensed in the US under current rules?

Atomic Show #303 – Bret Kugelmass, CEO Last Energy

  • Home
  • About Atomic Insights
  • Atomic Show
  • Contact
  • Links

Search Atomic Insights

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Atomic Insights

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy