Item #176: A fire drill. No, not an exercise in which occupants of a building practice leaving the building safely. A drill which safely emits a bit of fire, the approximate shape and size of a drill bit. Item #74: Enter a lecture class in street clothes. Receive loud phone call. Shout “I NEED TO GO, THE CITY NEEDS ME!” Remove street clothes to reveal superhero apparel. Run out for the good of the land. Item #293: Hypnotizing a chicken seems easy, but if the Wikipedia article on the practice is to be believed, debate on the optimal method is heated. Do some trials on a real chicken and submit a report . . . for science of course. Item #234: A walking, working, people-powered but preferably wind-powered Strandbeest. Item #188: Fattest cat. Points per pound. The University of Chicago’s annual Scavenger Hunt (or “Scav”) is one of the most storied college traditions in America. Every year, teams of hundreds of competitors scramble over four days to complete roughly 350 challenges. The tasks range from moments of silliness to 1,000-mile road trips, and they call on participants to fully embrace the absurd. For students it is a rite of passage, and for the surrounding community it is a chance to glimpse the lighter side of a notoriously serious university. We Made Uranium! shares the stories behind Scav, told by participants and judges from the hunt’s more than thirty-year history. The twenty-three essays range from the shockingly successful (a genuine, if minuscule, nuclear reaction created in a dorm room) to the endearing failures (it’s hard to build a carwash for a train), and all the chicken hypnotisms and permanent tattoos in between. Taken together, they show how a scavenger hunt once meant for blowing off steam before finals has grown into one of the most outrageous annual traditions at any university. The tales told here are absurd, uplifting, hilarious, and thought-provoking—and they are all one hundred percent true.

Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy, Second Edition is a fully updated comprehensive reference on the latest advances in MSR research and technology. Building on the successful first edition, Tom Dolan and the team of experts have fully updated the content to reflect the impressive advances from the last 5 years, ensuring this book continues to be the go-to reference on the topic. This new edition covers progress made in MSR design, details innovative experiments, and includes molten salt data, corrosion studies and deployment plans. The successful case studies section of the first edition have been removed, expanded, and fully updated, and are now published in a companion title called Global Case Studies on Molten Salt Reactors. Readers will gain a deep understanding of the advantages and challenges of MSR development and thorium fuel use, as well as step-by-step guidance on the latest in MSR reactor design. Each chapter provides a clear introduction, covers technical issues and includes examples and conclusions, while promoting the sustainability benefits throughout. - A fully updated comprehensive handbook on Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy, written by a team of global experts - Covers MSR applications, technical issues, reactor types and reactor designs - Includes 3 brand new chapters which reflect the latest advances in research and technology since the first edition published - Presents case studies on molten salt reactors which aid in the transition to net zero by providing abundant clean, safe energy to complement wind and solar powe

This book provides a readable and thought-provoking analysis of the issues surrounding nuclear fuel reprocessing and fast-neutron reactors, including discussion of resources, economics, radiological risk and resistance to nuclear proliferation. It describes the history and science behind reprocessing, and gives an overview of the status of reprocessing programmes around the world. It concludes that such programs should be discontinued. While nuclear power is seen by many as the only realistic solution to the carbon emission problem, some national nuclear establishments have been pursuing development and deployment of sodium-cooled plutonium breeder reactors, and plutonium recycling. Its proponents argue that this system would offer significant advantages relative to current light water reactor technology in terms of greater uranium utilization efficiency, and that separating out the long-lived plutonium and other transuranics from spent fuel and fissioning them in fast reactors would greatly reduce the duration of the toxicity of radioactive waste. However, the history of efforts to deploy this system commercially in a number of countries over the last six decades has been one of economic and technical failure and, in some cases, was used to mask clandestine nuclear weapon development programs. Covering topics of significant public interest including nuclear safety, fuel storage, environmental impact and the spectre of nuclear terrorism, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of the issue for nuclear engineers, policy analysts, government officials and the general public. "Frank von Hippel, Jungmin Kang, and Masafumi Takubo, three internationally renowned nuclear experts, have done a valuable service to the global community in putting together this book, which both historically and comprehensively covers the “plutonium age” as we know it today. They articulate in a succinct and clear manner their views on the dangers of a plutonium economy and advocate a ban on the separation of plutonium for use in the civilian fuel cycle in view of the high proliferation and nuclear-security risks and lack of economic justification." (Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009), Nobel Peace Prize (2005)) "The 1960s dream of a ‘plutonium economy’ has not delivered abundant low-cost energy, but instead has left the world a radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons proliferation and the real potential for nuclear terrorism. Kang, Takubo, and von Hippel explain with power and clarity what can be done to reduce these dangers. The governments of the remaining countries whose nuclear research and development establishments are still pursuing the plutonium dream should pay attention.” (Senator Edward Markey, a leader in the US nuclear-disarmament movement as a member of Congress since 1976) "The authors have done an invaluable service by putting together in one place the most coherent analysis of the risks associated with plutonium, and the most compelling argument for ending the practice of separating plutonium from spent fuel for any purpose. They have given us an easily accessible history of the evolution of thinking about the nuclear fuel cycle, the current realities of nuclear power around the world and, arguably most important, a clear alternative path to deal with the spent fuel arising from nuclear reactors for decades to centuries to come." (Robert Gallucci, Chief US negotiator with North Korea (1994); Dean, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (1996-2009); President, MacArthur Foundation (2009-2014))

Physics of Nuclear Reactors presents a comprehensive analysis of nuclear reactor physics. Editors P. Mohanakrishnan, Om Pal Singh, and Kannan Umasankari and a team of expert contributors combine their knowledge to guide the reader through a toolkit of methods for solving transport equations, understanding the physics of reactor design principles, and developing reactor safety strategies. The inclusion of experimental and operational reactor physics makes this a unique reference for those working and researching nuclear power and the fuel cycle in existing power generation sites and experimental facilities. The book also includes radiation physics, shielding techniques and an analysis of shield design, neutron monitoring and core operations. Those involved in the development and operation of nuclear reactors and the fuel cycle will gain a thorough understanding of all elements of nuclear reactor physics, thus enabling them to apply the analysis and solution methods provided to their own work and research. This book looks to future reactors in development and analyzes their status and challenges before providing possible worked-through solutions. Cover image: Kaiga Atomic Power Station Units 1 - 4, Karnataka, India. In 2018, Unit 1 of the Kaiga Station surpassed the world record of continuous operation, at 962 days. Image courtesy of DAE, India. Includes methods for solving neutron transport problems, nuclear cross-section data and solutions of transport theory Dedicates a chapter to reactor safety that covers mitigation, probabilistic safety assessment and uncertainty analysis Covers experimental and operational physics with details on noise analysis and failed fuel detection

This book is a complete update of the classic 1981 FAST BREEDER REACTORS textbook authored by Alan E. Waltar and Albert B. Reynolds, which , along with the Russian translation, served as a major reference book for fast reactors systems. Major updates include transmutation physics (a key technology to substantially ameliorate issues associated with the storage of high-level nuclear waste ), advances in fuels and materials technology (including metal fuels and cladding materials capable of high-temperature and high burnup), and new approaches to reactor safety (including passive safety technology), New chapters on gas-cooled and lead-cooled fast spectrum reactors are also included. Key international experts contributing to the text include Chaim Braun, (Stanford University) Ronald Omberg, (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Massimo Salvatores (CEA, France), Baldev Raj, (Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, India) , John Sackett (Argonne National Laboratory), Kevan Weaver, (TerraPower Corporation) ,James Seinicki(Argonne National Laboratory). Russell Stachowski (General Electric), Toshikazu Takeda (University of Fukui, Japan), and Yoshitaka Chikazawa (Japan Atomic Energy Agency).