[en] The Biomedical Group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay, India, has evaluated the performance of a radioimmunoassay counting system in the light of requirements of laboratories in developing countries. The system in question was built by Oakfield Instruments, Ltd., Eynsham, Oxford, England, to a design established in the laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The counter was found to function satisfactorily. Its low cost and sophisticated data analysis were judged major advantages which would allow good quality RIA procedures to be within reach of every laboratory

No abstract available

[en] DESY II has been extensively tested at low magnet current excitations corresponding to 1 GeV maximum energy. After the old DESY I synchrotron was turned off in Nov. 86 the provisional power supplies were replaced by magnet- and rf-power supplies of full 8 GeV rating. All external beam lines have now been connected to the new machine. Some modifications on components are described. A report on the results from the initial tests of the machine under full power conditions is given

[en] A general description is presented of the first Argentine cask for the transportation of spent fuel elements from the Atucha I nuclear reactor, sited in Lima, Buenos Aires Province, to the Ezeiza Atomic Center where a reprocessing plant is being built. The transportation will be through 150 kilometers of road surface. Some characteristics about the calculations that are being developed will be shown, taking into account that no destructive tests are planned on models in large scales for the whole cask. 7 figures

[en] The Hawk generator is used in plasma opening switch (POS) experiments in the 1-μs conduction time regime to study long conduction time switch physics. Peak load powers of 0.7 TW with 55 kJ delivered to the diode--20% energy efficiency--were achieved with a POS. The data indicate that above a critical load impedance the final switch gap size is limited to about 3 mm. This limits the voltage. Maximum load power is obtained at this critical impedance. Increasing the cathode magnetic field--by conducting more current or by decreasing the cathode radius-allows the fixed-gap POS to remain insulated at a higher voltage. Peak load voltages up to 2 MV were achieved with a 2.5 cm diam cathode, a factor of 2.8 higher than the Marx voltage. Load powers were up to 70% higher with a plasma-filled diode (PFD) used in conjunction with the POS for short POS conduction times. The switch gap may be larger (> 3mm) on these short conduction PFD shots

No abstract available

[en] The performance of two commercially available thermoluminescence bulb dosimetry systems, the Victoreen 2810 Ultra Sensitive TLD Reader and the Harshaw Model 2000P Bulb Dosimetry System, was investigated. Of primary interest was the reliability of the instruments at an exposure range typically encountered in environmental radiation when monitoring on a monthly basis, i.e., approx. 10 mR. Uniformity, linearity, and reproducibility test results are reported. The two systems were found to perform comparably well as bulb readers. Evaluation of the dual capability of the Victoreen 2810 as a chip reader is also described

No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] High-power ultrawideband pulses with equivalent center frequencies around 10 GHz require switching in a time scale of about a hundred picoseconds. The authors are developing a high-pressure gas switch that is designed to store a few joules of energy. Energy is stored in the transmission line upstream of the switch. The switch is a gap in a short transmission line of low impedance. The line is pulse charged to store the desired energy before the electric field across the gap collapses from the avalanche buildup of electrons. To ensure a relatively uniform voltage collapse across the width of the gap, initial electrons are produced by radiation from a bare spark. The switching repeatability is very good when the spark provides the initial electrons. Gap electric fields greater than 1 MV/cm were achieved for a 10-atm switch pressure in air with a voltage collapse less than 150 ps over 6 cm of switch length. The switch was tested with repetitive pulses up to 1 kHz. In a pulse charging mode, the collapse time of the gap will typically be 5 times less than the charging time. For applications where a switching time of tens of picoseconds is desired, a second switch would be required