Increasing numbers of designers are choosing beryllium for fusion reactor blankets because it, among all nonfissile materials, produces the highest number (2.5 neutron in an infinite media) of neutrons per 14-MeV incident neutron. In amounts of about 20 cm of equivalent solid density, it can be used to produce fissile material, to breed all the tritium consumed in ITER from outboard blankets only, and in designs to produce Co-60. The problem is that predictions of neutron multiplication in beryllium are off by some 10 to 20% and appear to be on the high side, which means that better multiplication measurements and numerical methods are needed. The n,2n reactions result in two helium atoms, which cause radiation damage in the form of hardening at low temperatures (<300/degree/C) and swelling at high temperatures (>300/degree/C). The usual way beryllium parts are made is by hot pressing the powder. A lower cost method is to cold press and then sinter. There is no radiation damage data on this form of beryllium. The issues of corrosion, safety relative to the release of the tritium built-up inside beryllium, and recycle of used beryllium are also discussed. 10 figs.

Previous surveys of experimental level structure in deformed odd-odd nuclei have been updated with recent results for the lanthanide and actinide regions. The relative strengths of the effective neutron-proton interaction derived from these data are compared. The predictive power of a semi-empirical model for level structure in deformed odd-odd nuclei is demonstrated. Comparison is made with recent Hartree-Fock calculations of selected nuclei.

In May of 1988, the long tradition of international cooperation in magnetic fusion energy research culminated in the initiation of design work on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). If eventually constructed in the 1990s, ITER would be the world's first magnetic fusion reactor. This paper discusses the background events that led to ITER and the present status of the ITER activity. This paper presents a brief summary of the technical, political, and organizational activities that have led to the creation of the ITER design activity. The ITER activity is now the main focus of international cooperation in magnetic fusion research and one of the largest international cooperative efforts in all of science. 2 refs., 12 figs.

A proposal that the net spin carried by gluons in a polarized proton may be very large compared to 1/2 has recently received considerable theoretical attention. There exists a unique opportunity to test for this dramatic possibility using an existing experimental setup. We urge the consideration of a precision measurement (+-10 b) of sigma/sub L//sup jet/(pp; p0, s) at p0S = 5 GeVS and s = 400 GeVS using the Fermilab polarized beam facility. 10 refs.

The Tokamak Ignition/Burn Experimental Reactor (TIBER) was pursued in the US as one option for an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This concept evolved from earlier work on the Tokamak Fusion Core Experiment (TFCX) to develop a small, ignited tokamak. While the copper-coil versions of TFCX became the short-pulsed, 1.23-m radius, Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT), the superconducting TIBER with long pulse or steady state and a 2.6-m radius was considered for international collaboration. Recently the design was updated to TIBER II, to accommodate more conservative confinement scaling, double-poloidal divertors for impurity control, steady-state current drive, and nuclear testing. 18 refs., 1 fig.