Chemical experiments were performed to examine the usefulness of heavy ion transfer reactions in producing new, neutron-rich actinide nuclides. A general quasi-elastic to deep-inelastic mechanism is proposed, and the utility of this method as opposed to other methods (e.g. complete fusion) is discussed. The relative merits of various techniques of actinide target synthesis are discussed. A description is given of a target system designed to remove the large amounts of heat generated by the passage of a heavy ion beam through matter, thereby maximizing the beam intensity which can be safely used in an experiment. Also described is a general separation scheme for the actinide elements from protactinium (Z = 91) to mendelevium (Z = 101), and fast specific procedures for plutonium, americium and berkelium. The cross sections for the production of several nuclides from the bombardment of {sup 248}Cm with {sup 18}O, {sup 86}Kr and {sup 136}Xe projectiles at several energies near and below the Coulomb barrier were determined. The results are compared with yields from {sup 48}Ca and {sup 238}U bombardments of {sup 248}Cm. Simple extrapolation of the product yields into unknown regions of charge and mass indicates that the use of heavy ion transfer reactions to produce …

This document discusses a support provided for use in a thermionic converter to support an end of an emitter to keep it out of contact with a surrounding collector while allowing the emitter end to move axially as its temperature changes. The emitter end is supported by a spring structure that includes a pair of Belleville springs, and the spring structure is supported by a support structure fixed to the housing that includes the collector. The support structure is in the form of a sandwich with a small metal spring-engaging element at the front end, a larger metal main support at the rear end that is attached to the housing, and with a ceramic layer between them that is bonded by hot isostatic pressing to the metal element and metal main support. The spring structure can include a loose wafer captured between the Belleville springs. 7 figs.

Liquid fossil fuels, both petroleum and synthetically derived oils, are exceedingly complex mixtures of thousands of components. The effect of many of these energy-related components on the environment is largely unknown. Octanol/water distribution coefficients relate both to toxicity and to the bioaccumulation potential of chemical components. Use of these partition data in conjunction with component concentrations in the oils in environmental models provides important information on the fate of fossil fuel components when released to the environment. Octanol/water distribution data are not available for many energy-related organic compounds, and those data that are available have been determined for individual components in simple, one-component octanol/water equilibrium mixtures. In this study, methods for determining many octanol/water distribution coefficients from aqueous extracts of oil products were developed. Sample aqueous mixtures were made by equilibrating liquid fossil fuels with distilled water. This approach has the advantage of detecting interactions between components of interest and other sample components. Compound types studied included phenols, nitrogen bases, hydrocarbons, sulfur heterocyclic compounds, and carboxylic acids. Octanol/water distribution coefficients that were determined in this study ranged from 9.12 for aniline to 67,600 for 1,2-dimethylnaphthalene. Within a compound type, distribution coefficients increased logarithmically with increasing alkyl substitution and molecular weight. …