Abstract. The physico-chemical methods of determining nitric acid and thorium nitrate in solutions containing these two materials were investigated. Conductimetric titration with sodium hydroxide can be used to determine nitric acid accurately. the titration of thorium nitrate requires a separate standardization of the base however, since a basic salt is precipitated rather the normal hydroxide. The titration of thorium is reproductible however, so and empirical standardization can be used. The measurement of the specific gravity and refractivity of the solutions provides a method of determining the concentrations in terms of these two variable. Equations for the concentrations in terms of specific gravity and refractively are given, both in pure solutions and in those saturated with methyl isobutyl ketone.

Abstract. A method for the preparation of beryllium oxide of high purity is presented. Beryllium basic acetate (BeO-3Be(C2H3O2)2) is prepared from the metal or a convenient salt, a chloroform solution of this material extracted with redistilled water, the dried basic acetate distilled in a quartz apparatus, and this purified material converted to the oxide by fuming down with sulfuric acid and igniting at 1000 degrees C. Impurities detectable spectrographically were reduced to a very low level.

Technical report describing the attempt to separate the long lived fission product oxides by volatilization methods. A fractionization crucible was used. The fractionations give a fair idea of the relative volatilities of the longer lived fission products and also of the degrees of separation of the plutonium oxide or oxides from the fission products.