Whatzit?

[webenda]

Yes, we did the cashew once upon a time.

I have not figured out what the nuclear reactor is in your whazit yet.

While I was attending the University of California at Irvine (UCI) they installed a nuclear reactor. Two things surprised me.
1. Lack of security. I went into the building at least once a week to observe what they were doing. Nobody challenged me.
2. Once they got the pool full of water the water glowed an eerie blue. The blue glow was caused by Cherenkov radiation.

I was told the radiation samples for our experiments were made in the school's reactor. I remember testing for types of radiation by covering the samples with paper and aluminum. Alpha particles were blocked by paper. Beta particles were blocked by aluminum. If it got through paper and aluminum it was Gamma radiation.

Here is a picture of the UCI TRIGA reactor.


Cherenkove radiation fascinated me at first because Dr. Teller told me that Cherenkov radiation results when a charged particle, most commonly an electron, travels through a dielectric (water) medium with a speed greater than that at which light propagates in the same medium. I thought our TRIGA was producing particles that exceeded the speed of light.

[chuck]

Ford Reactor was similar in appearance. It was a 2MW unit. B&W picture:



UM unit was very secure. You needed special ID badges to get access to building let alone the reactor or hot cell areas. It was ironic in that you can't do much with a swimming pool reactor until you get rid of all that water. Not an easy task. Someone asked Public Safety about driving a truck through the outside wall. a) would need to be more like a tank to breach that super dense concrete formulated to keep radiation inside and b) even if you did you would have a wet irradiated truck. The top of the pool was at about ground level and then went down 22'.

I visited the former Union Carbide research reactor in Tuxedo NY while in high school. It was a 5 MW unit but similar in overall design to both Irvine and UM. Up until that point in time I had never seen water so clean/clear that you could read the signage at the bottom of the pool +20 feet down in the water. We were advised not to touch the water because we would contaminate it, rather than the other way around. Reactor was powered down, no blue glow. UM reactor's unofficial motto was we make M glow Blue.

BTW, when looking at the whatzit image, note the shape of the "doors" into that space, and that the "walls" aren't finished yet either.

[rogruth]

Even though I don't do very good with this kind of thing I get more confused by a new one starting before the previous one is over. Just old, I guess.

[Roy]

So Wayne, you had a little chat with Edward Teller?

[webenda]

So Wayne, you had a little chat with Edward Teller?

Sort of. I was directed to "Dr. Teller" to ask about the blue glow. He gave me more information than I wanted. I interrupted him before he was finished to ask about particles moving faster than light. He said he had not finished answering my first question and would get to my second when he finished the first. All I wanted to know is what caused the blue glow. I felt he had given the answer in the first sentence, I could hardly wait to escape.

[webenda]

You are on the right track though. I found the image(s) doing research to build a scale model. Most of the model is actually pretty accurate with the exception of that large white thing in the middle of the photo. Not sure why they screwed that up so badly. I don't think it was for security reasons, probably was cheaper to make it "wrong".

Menards Oak Point Nuclear Plant?

[chuck]

The model has nothing to do with trains. It's a kit, specifically a Revell kit. Real reactor was rated at 75 MW. Fuel was removed back in 1975. The reactor is still in place but the place keeps moving around. It's currently in Virginia. It's done time in NJ, MD, and SC.

[Roy]

So Wayne, you had a little chat with Edward Teller?

Sort of. I was directed to "Dr. Teller" to ask about the blue glow. He gave me more information than I wanted. I interrupted him before he was finished to ask about particles moving faster than light. He said he had not finished answering my first question and would get to my second when he finished the first. All I wanted to know is what caused the blue glow. I felt he had given the answer in the first sentence, I could hardly wait to escape.

Were you aware at the time, that he was "the father of the hydrogen bomb"?

[webenda]

You have given enough clues now Chuck, and I still cannot name the reactor.

[chuck]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah

The white thing is the containment vessel (would be a containment building on a land based reactor). The reactor as well as the primary cooling system and all support equipment (pumps, heat exchangers are contained inside).

[chuck]

Three images. The thing is in a north east NJ suburb. First two photos are taken about 250 feet apart, looking south and north respectively, aka the "Thing" is that tall brick thing in those peoples back yards. The white gate is visible in both photos.

Third shot is from high above via Google Earth.





What is the thing?

[webenda]

So Wayne, you had a little chat with Edward Teller?

Sort of. I was directed to "Dr. Teller" to ask about the blue glow. He gave me more information than I wanted. I interrupted him before he was finished to ask about particles moving faster than light. He said he had not finished answering my first question and would get to my second when he finished the first. All I wanted to know is what caused the blue glow. I felt he had given the answer in the first sentence, I could hardly wait to escape.

Were you aware at the time, that he was "the father of the hydrogen bomb"?

Not a clue.

[webenda]

The white thing is the containment vessel (would be a containment building on a land based reactor). The reactor as well as the primary cooling system and all support equipment (pumps, heat exchangers are contained inside).

Now I see it. The Whatzit image does not have the lid on it yet. Thank you Chuck, that one stumped me.

[E7]

Cherenkove radiation fascinated me at first because Dr. Teller told me that Cherenkov radiation results when a charged particle, most commonly an electron, travels through a dielectric (water) medium with a speed greater than that at which light propagates in the same medium. I thought our TRIGA was producing particles that exceeded the speed of light.

Seems to me that intensifies would be a better word than propagates. Whatever the case, I don't think we're exceeding the speed of light. Scotty, give us warp 7!

Only one that could do that was Cool Papa Bell who could flick the light switch and be in bed before the light went out! That per Satchel Paige I think!

[E7]

What is the thing?

Something to do with Edison???