THOROBRED is an IBM-704 code for the calculation of nuclear and economic characteristics of two-region homogeneous reactors operating on a U-Th fuel cycle in the steady state. The major input variables are reactor dimensions, power level, thorium concentration, chemical and purification systems cycle times, corrosion rates, fraction of Pa loss, and nuclear and economic data. The output includes equilibrium isotope concentrations, neutron balance, and a breakdown of fuel cost. Running times are normally less than one minute per case.

Entrained solids have in the past been one of the major factors limiting solvent extraction fission product decontamination. These solids are known to be surface active, to absorb fission products, and to form interfacial films or "cruds". A major step in eliminating these cruds was taken when the Purex columns were modified to operate with the interfaces at the waste ends of the columns rather than the product ends. This type of operation tended to flush the solids out with the waste rather than the product streams.

A need for a small vertical cylinder-type furnace arises frequently in the Chemistry Department at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (LRL). Adequate heat is the major requirement; close control or calibration is not usually necessary. A heating unit of this type can either be used for quickly concentrating solutions in centrifuge cones or, by the addition of a refractory pedestal--can be made into a crucible furnace for size 0 and 00 crucibles. Because much of the chemistry done at LRL is with radioisotopes, disposal of contaminated equipment is an important consideration. In general, furnaces are difficult to decontaminate, hence there was a need for a disposable type. Because nothing meeting the requirements seemed to be commercially available, the Health Chemistry Department made up a simple furnace that has proved useful.

The increasing popularity of liquid-hydrogen targets in physics research has emphasized the need for containers with maximum beam transparency (i.e., thin walls and low Z) and suitable strength at cryogenic temperatures. Fabrication of a Mylar container satisfying these requirements is described here.

Molecular sieves are synthetic zeolites which, when dehydrated, contain a network of empty pores and cavities that constitute almost 50% of the total volume of the crystals. They have the unique property of adsorbing within these cavities only those molecules that are small enough to pass through the pores of the crystals, Molecular sieves have a very strong affinity for water and other polar molecules. It is this selective property plus their stability and reasonable cost that make them of interest for the application described herein.

Figures 1 and 2 summarize total decay energies for the four radioactive series. The alpha-decay energy obtained by measuring the energy of the alpha particle leading to the ground state includes the energy of the recoil nucleus. The curve shown in figure 3 defines in broad outline the conditions and regions of alpha instability. A great deal more is to be learned from a more detailed examination of the region where alpha radioactivity is prominent. Of great value to the experimentalist is that he is able to predict alpha energies, and the agreement between predicted and measured values often serves as a criterion for isotopic assignment. A number of systems for correlating alpha decay energies have been employed, and that perhaps most widely used is illustrated in figure 4. Here the isotopes of each element on a mass number vs. energy plot are joined, resulting in a family of curves which over a wide region comprise a series of nearly parallel lines.

This paper discusses a group of high-speed switching circuits using the basic current-switching mode of operation. The first part of the paper presents a dynamic analysis of the basic current-switching mode and the second part is the dynamic and steady-state analysis of a current-switching flip-flop.

"As a part of a program to determine the p-p scattering matrix at 213 Mev, the triple scattering parameters R and A were measured at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. and 90 deg in the center-of-msss system. The results are compared with a phase shift analysis by MacGregor and Moravcsik and with the predictions of the boundary condition model of Saylor, Bryan and Marshak."

"A brief examination of the post irradiation grafting of machine irradiated polyethylene film with acrylic acid monomer was made. Evidence of postgrafting was detected in samples that had been irradiated to a total dose of 10 Mrads at a dose rate of 0.01 Mrad/sec. and then exposed to a 25% purified acrylic acid solution in benzene for periods of 1 to 4 days."

From abstract: "To investigate the deviation of the internal conversion coefficients of E2 transitions from theoretical computations and their dependence on nuclear deformation, the total internal conversion coefficient of the 121.8-kev 2+-0+ transition in ellipsoidal Sm152[over]90 was measured to be 1.135 ± 0.010 with a high accuracy coincidence-sum method. The K-shell to total internal conversion ratio was determined to be 0.588 ± 0.003 with a [beta] spectrometer...The experiment revealed no deviation from theory nor indications of strong dependence on nuclear deformation; it therefore did not confirm recent beliefs in this regard. The details of the coincidence-sum method were described. The K electron to total electron capture ratio, from Eu152 to the 1.53 Mev state in Sm152 was also measured to be 0.79±0.02."

From abstract: "In this report we present data obtained with the optical simulation apparatus on image quality as a function of the parameters of neutron scattering and image detector resolution...Also included in this report is a brief description of a large area (5 inch diameter) neutron beam exposure facility being set up at the reactor for the phase three work."