Docentship lecture: Finding hidden things – introduction to nuclear archaeology
- Date: 14 March 2025, 10:15–11:00
- Location: Ångström Laboratory, Polhemsalen Å10134 (or on zoom: https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/63713834348)
- Type: Docent trial lecture
- Lecturer: Tekn dr Cecilia Gustavsson
- Organiser: Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy
- Contact person: Cecilia Gustavsson
The Department of physics and Astronomy hereby invite all interested to a docentship lecture in the subject physics.
Chairperson: Professor Stephan Pomp
Representative of the Docentship Committee: Professor Carlos Perez de los Heros
Abstract:
Nuclear archaeology was coined as a concept in the early 1990s and deals with methods for studying the historical operation of nuclear facilities that have produced fissile materials. Plutonium is produced in nuclear reactors and is one of the materials that can be used as fissile material in nuclear weapons. Methods to verify historical plutonium production can support the implementation of and confidence in future disarmament agreements, such as the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). To estimate how much plutonium a reactor has produced; one important parameter is the neutron flux. The total integrated neutron flux in a reactor can be determined from experimental measurements of isotopes formed by neutron capture in materials near the reactor core. Another method is to calculate the historical neutron flux in the reactor from operating data such as power history, core loading patterns and burnup.
In this lecture I will introduce the field of nuclear archaeology with a focus on plutonium production in graphite and heavy water moderated reactors. I will discuss isotope ratio measurements and core calculations, but also the importance of being able to verify the consistency of archived operational data by finding and comparing archival records.
The lecture is an obligatory teaching test for those applying for admittance as docent and it should be possible for students and others with basic academic education in the relevant field to follow it. The lecture lasts 40-45 minutes with subsequent discussion. The lecture will be given in Swedish.
Welcome!