Spring Break
Nuclear Science Center director says Narragansett Campus reactor is secure
Tyler Will
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
03/07/08 -
It's not a myth that radiation glows in the dark (it's blue). Even fewer people know that the University of Rhode Island can prove it with a nuclear reactor on its Narragansett Bay Campus.
But it's very small, said Terry Tehan, the director of the URI Nuclear Science Center. Tehan said the reactor is about three feet tall and has a two or three foot circumference. "It's about the size of a trash can," he said.
A nuclear reactor is a chamber where a reaction between a control substance and a radioactive material occurs, usually involving plutonium or uranium. The radioactive material generates heat, which boils water. The control rods regulate the amount of heat emitted.
The steam from the heated water creates a lot of pressure and spins a turbine, which generates electricity. Nuclear power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy because it doesn't produce greenhouse gasses, and the fuel can last 40 years without replacement.
The problem with nuclear power is the risk of a "meltdown," when the reactor becomes so hot that the structure melts and releases radiation into the atmosphere. The risk is small, but a meltdown could be catastrophic.
However, the reactor on the Bay Campus is much smaller than a commercial reactor and contains very little radioactive material.
"At the levels we run [the reactor] at, we don't get any radiation at the top of the pool," Tehan said, explaining that the bay campus's reactor is suspended in a 30-foot pool of water, which insulates it.
Tehan said the reactor only produces neutrons, and is used for research purposes. Tehan said the neutrons have been used for studying ozone depletion in the atmosphere and cancer research.
Tehan said to study ozone depletion, researchers take a sample of the atmosphere, which is met and "excited" by neutrons. When the neutron activity dies down, decay of the sample begins and the result is measured.
It's not a myth that radiation glows in the dark (it's blue). Even fewer people know that the University of Rhode Island can prove it with a nuclear reactor on its Narragansett Bay Campus.
But it's very small, said Terry Tehan, the director of the URI Nuclear Science Center. Tehan said the reactor is about three feet tall and has a two or three foot circumference. "It's about the size of a trash can," he said.
A nuclear reactor is a chamber where a reaction between a control substance and a radioactive material occurs, usually involving plutonium or uranium. The radioactive material generates heat, which boils water. The control rods regulate the amount of heat emitted.
The steam from the heated water creates a lot of pressure and spins a turbine, which generates electricity. Nuclear power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy because it doesn't produce greenhouse gasses, and the fuel can last 40 years without replacement.
The problem with nuclear power is the risk of a "meltdown," when the reactor becomes so hot that the structure melts and releases radiation into the atmosphere. The risk is small, but a meltdown could be catastrophic.
However, the reactor on the Bay Campus is much smaller than a commercial reactor and contains very little radioactive material.
"At the levels we run [the reactor] at, we don't get any radiation at the top of the pool," Tehan said, explaining that the bay campus's reactor is suspended in a 30-foot pool of water, which insulates it.
Tehan said the reactor only produces neutrons, and is used for research purposes. Tehan said the neutrons have been used for studying ozone depletion in the atmosphere and cancer research.
Tehan said to study ozone depletion, researchers take a sample of the atmosphere, which is met and "excited" by neutrons. When the neutron activity dies down, decay of the sample begins and the result is measured.
