Detroit evening times., 1945-10-30

POWER
By Arthur
n. Compton

THIS is the second of series
Of these articles on atomic energy
and ITS uses By Prof. Arthur II.
Compton, renowned physicist and
Nobel prise tOinHer, recently dp-
pointed chancellor Of Washing
ton University. 81. Louis.
N THE long run. il can hardly
Il be questioned that the peace
ful application of atomic energy
will be those that will most pro-
foundly affect our lives.
What these important applica-
tionS will be is, however, as diff
cult to predict as il would have
been a century ago.
At this moment the obviously
great field open 10 atomic
energy is that of production of
useful heat and power.
We also see important though
limited medical and industrial
applications of radioactive mate
rails, artificially produced by
atomic chain reactions.
Perhaps more significant than
either are the new vistas that
VIII be opened by scientific ex-
perimentS that make use Of the
by-products of atomic fission.
OUCH indeed has been the case
~ with such discoveries as
X-rays. Fifty years ago il was
obvious that X-rays were useful
for seeing through objects
opaque TO ordinary light such
as the human body.
1t could not be predicted that
X-rays would become a power
ful weapon in the fight against
cancer, or that researches made
possible by X-rays would re-
veal the electron and with il
give us the radio and a host of
electronic devices.
Such unforeseen developments
are the result of every dis
covery of science. Now, however,
you want to know what we can
clearly see before us.
At present, controlled atomic
power in the form of heat is
in continuous production in
large quantities at Severa |
plants especially those at Oak
Ridge, Tenn. and at Hanford,
Wash.
THE heat from these plants
Il is by product, and is
carried away in the one case
by air and in the other by a
stream of water. The useful
product is neutrons, which are
used In the plants as a means of
transmitting certain chemical
elements To others Of specially
useful characteristics.
OF these tranSmutation proc
eSSeS the most important one is
that Of uranium into plutonium.
We have not yet built an
atomic power plant that is gen
Grating electrical power. This is
merely because we have been
engaged in winning a war, and
there has been no serious short
age of electric power.
II there were sufficient reason
for a demonstration, a rea-
Sonably efficient plant using
superheated steam for driving
a turbine could be put in opera
tion within a year. Before such
plants can be made economical
competitors with existing prac-
tice, however. a number of years
development VIII be required.
WHILE there are severa ]
W other possibilities, the most
obvious method of producing
power from atomic fiSsion is TO
heat cooling agent such as
air or steam or liquid metal in
the chain reactor unit, and pass
this heated coolant through a
heat eXchanger which heats the
steam for driving a turbine.
Beyond the heat exchanger
of such a plant everything
would be done according to
standard practice.
The large atomic power
plants now used for producing
plutonium have in them many
tons of natural uranium and
graphite. By using uranium
containing more than the usual
fraction of U-235, chain reacting
units have been built that are
of much smaller size.
There is. however, lower
limit to the size and weight Of
an atomic power plant that is
imposed by the massive shield
needed 10 prevent the neutrons
and other dangerous radiations
from getting out.
NEXT 10 CoSmic rays, these
~ radiationS are the most pen
etrating that we know, and for
a plant designed to deliver, for
example. no more than 100
horsepower, are enormously
more intense than the rays from
a large supply Of radium or an
X-ray tube
To stop them, shield equiva-
lent in weight TO at least two
or three feet of solid steel is
needed. There are basic laws
of physics that make it appear
very unlikely that a lighter
shield can be devised.
This means that there IL no
reason 10 hope that atomic
power units for normal uses can
be built that will weigh less
than nerhaDs 80 tons. Driving