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Progress of research in nuclear excitation and reaction mechanisms is reported for the period 1 November 1971 to 31 October 1972. (SDF)

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Laboratory tests have demonstrated that plutonium metal, as well as aluminum, stainless steel, Hastelloy C, and other alloys, can be electrolytically dissolved in nitric acid using the ''solution contact'' approach. Two sources of plutonium metal were evaluated, weapons' grade and a special reactor grade (42% /sup 240/Pu, 12% /sup 241/Pu) from Savannah River, both yielding a dissolution rate of approximately one gram per ampere-hour. A current flow of 150 amperes was attained at 12 volts (limit of the power supply) and higher current should be possible at increased voltage. Since no fluoride was used in the actual dissolution, glass and 304 stainless steel components provided satisfactory performance. Preliminary investigations on the sludge formed (less than 1%) during electrolysis showed it to be soluble in a low fluoride-high nitric wash. The proposed electrolytic dissolver is recommended to replace the present metal dissolution process for the following reasons: (1) eliminates button sectioning--entire buttons are dissolved; (2) eliminates metal burning; (3) eliminates powder handling; (4) eliminates PuO/sub 2/ dissolution; (5) reduces solids going to the recovery columns; (6) simple to operate; (7) relatively independent of plutonium metal source; (8) reduces operator time resulting in decreased cost and operator exposure; and (9) will directly …

Some proposals appearing in the literature of laser-initiated thermonuclear fusion microexplosions which assertedly produce about as much thermonuclear energy as was inputted in laser light have been evaluated on physics simulation computer codes. These codes simulate in considerable detail the physical processes deemed to be relevant in such proposed schemes to produce a time history of the proposed microexplosion system. Output of such codes will be presented to demonstrate that the thermonuclear performance of such systems fall far short of approximation-rich analytic estimates, and the role of such approximations in producing such discrepancies is briefly discussed.

SPEAKEASY is a computer language designed for scientists. This document is primarily an introduction to that language, but it also serves as a reference manual for the version currently available for IBM-360 series computers. The specific control cards needed to run jobs at the Argonne installation are described. The report contains two major sections. The first is a detailed description of the basic language. The last section of the report is an illustration of the use of the language in the form of an actual computer run.

The technology, cost and potential of geothermal resources in California are examined. The production of power from dry stream fields is expanding in Northern California, at The Geysers, at costs that compare favorably with alternate means of generation. The possibility exists that economic production of power can be started in the Imperial Valley, but numerous issues remain to be resolved; chief among them is the demonstration that commercially valuable aquifers indeed exist. The production of demineralized water from the geothermal fluids of the Imperial Valley depends, among other things, upon the identification of other sources of water for power plant cooling, or for reservoir reinjection, should it be necessary to avoid subsidence. It would appear that water production, without the income-producing capability of associated power generation, is not economically reasonable. The pace of geothermal development at the Geysers could probably be accelerated perhaps offering the opportunity for maintenance of adequate generating reserves should their nuclear construction program be delayed. The unknown factors and risks involved seem to preclude the Imperial Valley resource from being immediately effective in improving the power generation picture in Southern California. However, in the next decade, geothermal power could provide a useful energy increment, perhaps 10 …

Design data for a Deep Pocket Hydrostatic Journal Bearing is presented. A wide range of possible operating conditions in the turbulent regime is examined. Both pressure flow induced turbulence and Bernoulli type inertia effects are accounted for in the generation of this data. Design data is presented for two bearing configurations, one selected for good stiffness characteristics, and the other with good balance between flow and stiffness. Tables of data are presented which provide load, flow, stiffness and damping of these bearings as a function of eccentricity ratio. In addition curves providing off-design information are presented, which may be used to evaluate tolerance effects and to study the performance of non-standard designs.

An analytical solution for acoustic flaw triangulation on thin spherical shells has been prepared. A FORTRAN program is provided which takes as input the differences in the arrival times of acoustic energy at the transducers and evaluates the spherical coordinates of the flaw. Only three experimental time differences need be measured. For this measurement, four transducers are required. One transducer is placed at (R, 0, 0) in spherical coordinates; the other three are spaced 90 degrees apart around the equator.

Electromagnetic transition rates within the /sup 38/Cl and /sup 40/K nuclei were studied through lifetime measurements with a double-coincidence variant of the Doppler-shift-attenuation method. In /sup 40/K the excitation energies (MeV) and measured mean lives (psec) are 0.800 (0.56 +- 0.13), 0.891 (1.53/sub -0.35//sup +0.40/), 1.959 (0.7 +- 0.5), 2.047 (0.49 +- 0.10), 2.070 (0.4/sub -0.2//sup +0.3/), 2.103 (0.54 +- 0.15), 2.261 (0.05 +- 0.05), 2.290 (0.33/sub -0.20//sup +0.40/), 2.291 (0.31/sub -0.12//sup +0.18/), 2.419 (0.55/sub -0.30//sup +0.85/), 2.575 (0.22 +- 0.10), 2.626 (0.32/sub -0.16//sup +0.40/), 2.731 (less than 0.120), 2.787 (0.13/sub -0.13//sup +1.00/), 3.110 (less than 0.14), 3.228 (0.04 +- 0.04), and 3.629 (less than 0.10). In /sup 38/Cl the lifetime results are 0.755 (0.30 +- 0.60), 1.309 (0.55/sub -0.20//sup +0.40/), 1.617 (1.5/sub -0.6//sup +1.2/), 1.692 (1.3/sub -0.3//sup +0.5/), 1.746 (1.1 +- 0.5), 1.785 (0.10/sub -0.08//sup +0.10/), 1.981 (0.26 +- 0.06), and 2.743 (0.05 +- 0.03). The energies of the low-lying (..pi..d/sub /sup 3///sub 2//)/sup +-1/ (..nu..f/sub /sup 7///sub 2//) shell-model states in /sup 38/Cl and /sup 40/K are known to be accurately related by the Pandya transformation. The (d/sub /sup 3///sub 2//)(f/sub /sup 7///sub 2//) model, when used with effective magnetic moments, can also approximately reproduce the /sup 40/K …

Backscattering of 1.25-MeV protons and alpha particles from thin foils is used for a nondestructive quantitative elemental analysis of thin foils. The detection of helium that had previously been implanted into a 1350 A palladium foil and the analysis of a composite aluminum and parylene foil are presented as examples of this technique.

Progress is reported in a limited study to measure the soil-moisture relationships at the Hanford site. Some of the tests have been conducted or are in progress using soil samples from a site located at the 32-49 Hanford Coordinates. Sections are included on original studies on well 32-49A, tritium assays of soil samples from wells at 32-49 coordinates, installation of sensors to the water table, and soil-moisture models. (JRD)

The advent of very high power, high energy pulsed laser systems has stimulated considerable thinking regarding how such systems might be used to engender thermonuclear microexplosions, and, in particular, explosions which may produce more energy than the inputted laser energy or even more energy than that used to pump the laser. Some of the basic physical principles and processes constraining laser-CTR proposals will be discussed, and application of them made to establish basic levels of feasibility of these published types of CTR schemes. It is demonstrated that this class of thermonuclear microexplosions has no potential CTR utility with lasers likely to be available in the next few years.

A FORTRAN IV Monte Carlo program to calculate the neutron detection efficiency of plastic scintillators of rectangular or cylindrical geometry as a function of neutron energy and light collection threshold has been written and tested. The existing cross-section data for neutron-carbon interactions have been adjusted to give a good fit to existing measurements of efficiency. This document contains a complete description of the physics input and method of approach, together with detailed instructions for use of the program. A listing of the source code, the data deck, and output of a sample calculation are appended.

The nucleus /sup 50/V with a ground-state configuration (..pi..f/sub 7/2/)/sup 3/(..nu..f/sub 7/2/)/sup -1/ was studied with the /sup 49/Ti(/sup 3/He,d)/sup 50/V, /sup 51/V)/sup 3/He,..cap alpha..)/sup 50/V, and /sup 48/Ti(/sup 3/He,p)/sup 50/V, and /sup 48/Ti(/sup 3/He,p..gamma..)/sup 50/V reactions induced by the /sup 3/He/sup + +/ beam from the tandem Van de Graaff at the Argonne National Laboratory. The angular distributions from (/sup 3/He,d), (/sup 3/He,..cap alpha..), and (/sup 3/He,p) reactions induced by 22-MeV /sup 3/He were studied with overall energy resolution widths of 20, 30, and 42 keV, respectively. The reactions (/sup 3/He,p) and (/sup 3/He,p..gamma..) were also studied at an incident energy of 13 MeV to obtain the ..gamma.. decay of /sup 50/V levels (including two 0/sup +/ isobaric analog states) in which the neutron-proton pair is transferred with zero angular momentum. The angular distributions of the charged-particle reactions were analyzed with the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA), and spectroscopic factors have been extracted for the one-nucleon transfer reactions. The two-nucleon transfer reaction (/sup 3/He,p) was analyzed with the DWBA on the assumption that the neutron-proton pair is transferred as a deuteron. The angular momentum L/sub np/ of the transferred deuteron is established for most of the levels, and the possibility …

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For the past six and one-half years the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(11-1)1468, has supported research in nuclear physics at the University of Arizona. During this period, from April 1, 1965, to September 30, 1971, the AEC has provided $567,000.00 in operational funds and $44,350.00 as a special equipment grant. This report summarizes the research accomplished under that contract.

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The Filter Attenuation Measurement System was designed by J.H. McCrary. It is, as its name implies, primarily intended to measure the attenuation of an x-ray beam by various substances. However, it can also be a very useful instrument for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis through the use of absorption edge spectrometry. The essential components of the system are depicted. The brehmstrahlung originating in a tungsten target x-ray tube is collimated and the desired energy picked out by varying the angle that the primary beam makes with the (200) set of planes in a LiF crystal. The reflected beam, which is monochromatic, passes through two collimators before being detected by a NaI counter. The sample whose transmissivity is being measured is placed between the second and third collimators.