The little reactor that can, the bigger reactor that may be

The Slowpoke-2 research reactor and its marketing are featured, with an account of an interview with Dr. John Hilborn, designer. Also discussed is a scaled-up 2 MW version for space heating or small-scale district heating. The new version will rely on natural convection and inherent safety like Slowpoke, but will differ from it in many ways. The core will contain 200 kg of fuel elements with 5 percent enrichment. The new reactor lacks an upper beryllium reflector. Control will be by moving an annular beryllium reflector up and down. Inherent safety will be achieved through diminution of reactivity resulting from the onset of boiling. The article also mentions projected or actual use of small reactors for heating in the U.S.S.R. and France