The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Package O-Ring Seal Material Validation Test was conducted to validate the use of the Butyl material as a primary seal throughout the required temperature range. Three tests were performed at (1) 233 K ({minus}40 {degrees}F), (2) a specified operating temperature, and (3) 244 K ({minus}20 {degrees}F) before returning to room temperature. Helium leak tests were performed at each test point to determine seal performance. The two major test objectives were to establish that butyl rubber material would maintain its integrity under various conditions and within specified parameters and to evaluate changes in material properties.

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At the Oak Ridge Multicharged Ion Source Facility, an experimental atomic collisions physics program is centered around a recently upgraded Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) multicharged ion source. The 10 GHz CAPRICE source has been in operation since October 22, 1992, and has provided more intense, higher charge ion beams than our previous ECR ion source. Intense metallic beams have recently become available with the installation of a metallic oven on the source. In addition to measurements of electron-impact excitation, carried out in collaboration with the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), experiments are presently on-line to study electron-impact ionization, low-energy ion-atom collisions, and ion-surface interactions. A brief summary of our various activities with an emphasis on the new capabilities is presented.