This report describes the development and design of a large bakeable valve that is based on a unique seat arrangement and a novel motion seal.

Introduction. With the development of fission and subsequently of thermonuclear explosives, a very large source of cheap energy has become available. The problem of using this energy for peaceful purposes safely and economically presents itself as one of the most interesting and important of our time. In explosions the energy is released very suddenly. Conversion of this sudden release of energy at extremely high temperature and pressure into the form of useful work, either mechanical or chemical or thermal, must be accomplished in order for such explosions to have nonmilitary uses. The technical feasibility of such conversions in a number of different instances will be described in this article. At the same time one must be able to control nuisance effects. Examples of these are seismic effects, the blast and heat which at least in the atmosphere always accompany such explosions, and the problem of radioactivity. Even given the technical feasibility of these accomplishments, which in some cases seems quite clear from what is known already, one must prove economic feasibility. That is to say, one must show that the cost of certain nonmilitary undertakings will be considerably less by the use of nuclear explosions than by conventional methods.

The pion-pion interaction is of great theoretical importance and must be understood before the other and more familiar interactions can be systematically analyzed. Therefore, various experiments to verify the existence of a P resonance in the w w system are proposed.

Report discussing experiments on particle density, plasma compression, electron heating, and electron energy distribution of plasma in a pyrotron. Past experiments that led to this investigation are discussed as well.

Report discussing the progress made on a study of electric propulsion for space travel during the period from July 1, 1958 to December 31, 1958 at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Livermore, California.

From abstract: "This bibliography consists of reports compiled from the AEC Library Card Catalog. Only the Classified and Unclassified report literature is included. For the published literature the reader is referred to an unpublished paper by V. Carson (UCRL - Livermore Library)" titled "Radioactive Waste Disposal" (April 25, 1957). "All progress reports covering the work have been omitted in order to exclude a large amount of duplicate information which is usually found in more detail in topical reports."

In a previous report the adaptation of Stix's ion-cyclotron-wave-heating scheme to the mirror geometry was suggested. An experiment along these lines has been conducted for the past year by E. Chambers, using a tubular P.I.G discharge to provide the basic plasma. The Chambers experiment has been eminently successful in demonstrating the transfer of rf power along the P.I.G. (as along a co-axial conductor), and the resultant acceleration of ions. The power transfer is evident from the predominantly resistive rf impedance of the P.I.G. (1 - 10 ohms), the production of intense luminosity outside the dc P.I.G channel when the rf is turned on, and by the observation large signals with magnetic pick-up loops. The ion heating is demonstrated by direct measurement of ion current on a probe some centimeters outside the P.I.G., and by the observation of energetic charge-exchange neutrals. At the same time, the characteristic features of heating by ion-cyclotron-waves, as described by Stix, are only partly in evidence. The visible broadening of the P.I.G. channel and such fast-ion phenomena as neutral emission do seem to be maximal near the expected cyclotron resonance point. However, the rf impedance is anomalous both in magnitude and parameter dependence, and there are …

Calculations presented were done to determine what maximum temperature gradients and stresses would be in typical designs of flat thorium plates, 100 mils thick and coolled on both sides by NaK.

A fraction of the energy released by the underground detonation of nuclear explosives is locally deposited as residual thermal energy. An accurate prediction of this usable fraction of the energy released is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of several of the proposed projects in the Plowshare Program. This paper will present a summary of the available data on residual thermal energy from nuclear detonations in three different geological media: tuff, halite, and granodiorite.

Certain aspects of mating behavior in two different types of Drosophila melanogaster females (Basc and Bv) and wildtype males (Samarkand) have been investigated and compared.

The increasing exponential function e-at [a > 0] characterizes such natural events as gas discharges, neutron multiplication, and the transistor avalanche phenomenon. This report describes an instrument for measuring the rate of rise, a, of an increasing electrical exponential signal.

Consider an orthogonal series [formula] where [formula] is an arbitrary orthonormal system for the interval (a, b) and [formula] is a sequence of real numbers. This report is a collection of theorems which give sufficient conditions for the convergence almost everywhere in (a, b) and summability a. e. in (a, b) of the above series.

The following report is a general monthly progress report for the University of California's radiation laboratory in Berkeley, covering the period of February 15 to March 15 of 1954.

From page 2: "This article first describes the Bevatron [particle accelerator] and its operation, and then discusses a portion of the research program. The principles of the machine and its early history were given in "The Bevatron," by Lloyd Smith, Scientific American, February 1951."

A phase shift analysis is an attempt to translate experimental measurements (observables) into well-determined scattering amplitudes, since these are the quantities that can be readily compared with theoretical predictions, In this sense, the phase shift analysis should contain as little theory as possible. The scattering amplitudes (or phase shifts) constitute an experimental statement, and the phase shift analysis should logically be done by the experimental groups who measure the observables.

Five isotopes of bismuth occur in nature. Using particle accelerators providing helium ions up to 40 Mev in energy and deuterons up to 20 Mev in energy, it was possible to produce and identify two artificial radioactive isotopes. With the advent of the 184-inch Berkeley syncho-cyclotron and its hundreds of Mev energies, it was possible to form highly neutron-deficient bismuth isotopes extending more than ten mass units below stable Bi(209).

Abstract: An application of the magnetic mirror principle to the acceleration of a plasma is described. It is shown that an axially symmetric magnetic field which increases with time but decreases with distance along the axis can impart a net translational energy to a plasma. This effect on a plasma is contrasted with that arising from an impressed electric field, which is not effective in producing acceleration.

Introduction. High voltage silicon mass transistors have the ability to perform circuit functions similar to the gas thyratron tube. Upon being triggered the transistor junction breaks down, or "avalanches", and can conduct a large current for a short time. The rise time of the avalanche breakdown pulse can be short, and the delay between triggering and avalanching can be short and very consistent. This avalanche action is non-destructive if the amount of peak and average power being dissipated at the junction is limited by the circuitry.

The following report demonstrates experimental verification of a method described in a previous paper--that involves measuring the dispersive microwave propagation coefficients simultaneously at several frequencies and comparing measured values with the values calculated for various distribution functions--and describes the procedure used to determine the distribution function in a sample laboratory plasma experiment.