Portable Reactor

For his modern Antarctic pioneers at the South Pole, Rear Admiral George Dufek last week urged Washington to send atomic-powered heat and light. If that seemed pretty cushy for explorers, it made practical scientific sense. The polar fuel bill is huge, and along the Arctic's 3,000-mile DEW line as well, U.S. radar stations could well use small reactors instead of flying in oil.

Last week the era of such small plants began, as the 210-ton Argonne Low Power Reactor went critical, i.e., began a controlled chain reaction, at the Atomic Energy Commission testing grounds in Idaho Falls. The Argonne reactor is a natural-circulation boiling water reactor: it produces steam simply and directly in its core instead of in a separate heat exchanger leading to the turbogenerator, and has an air-cooled condenser that drastically cuts down the total water needed. Full capacity: 3,000 thermal kw. --enough to light 260 average homes or (if used as radiator steam) to heat 40.

Just as important is the Argonne plant's portability. None of its components is bigger than 20 ft. by 9 ft. by 7 ft., and none weighs more than ten tons, so it can be flown anywhere with ease and assembled on the spot. Its enriched uranium fuel supply lasts three years. Once produced in quantity for military use, it may become the long-overdue prototype of a portable U.S. reactor for underdeveloped countries.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.