This quarterly progress report discusses ongoing research and experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the Metallurgy Division. This report discusses thorium research, the mechanical properties of metals including thorium, uranium, inconel, and z-nickel, the ANP program (including the following topics: the physical chemistry of liquid metals, and welding research), and the materials testing reactor program.

Abstract: "The possibility of transient temperature variations during the self-heating of a plasma by thermonuclear reactions was investigated. Calculations were performed on an IBM Card Program Calculator. Estimates of the time scale for self-heating were obtained. It was concluded that it would be unsafe to assume that the nuclear temperature is always equal to or greater than the electron temperature in a discussion of plasma instabilities for a plasma with 10 percent or greater tritium concentration."