MIT NUCLEAR REACTOR

Last Tuesday we went to MIT nuclear plant. It is next to the MIT campus in Cambridge. This plant is used as a research facility for scientists, professors, and students attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also it provides technical assistance for research projects for high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, university researchers and faculty members, and national laboratory users.

 

General description:

 

The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory is a university laboratory that conducts interdisciplinary research in the areas of advanced fuel and materials for nuclear energy systems, nuclear science, nuclear medicine, and radiation science and technology.  . In the MIT nuclear reactor there are two tanks: an inner one for the light water coolant moderator, an outer one for the heavy water reflector. The fuel elements of uranium are positioned in a hexagonal core structure, 38 cm (15 inches) across, at the bottom of the core tank.

The Power is controlled by six shim blades and an automatic regulating rod. The pressure in the system is practically atmospheric, and the maximum temperature approximately 50 C (120 F). An exterior shield of dense concrete makes it possible for research workers and students to conduct experiments and training without radiation hazards.

There are more than forty ports which penetrate the concrete shield and graphite reflector. Below the reactor is a shielded medical room for the use of a neutron beam in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.

 

This was the first time that I have been in a nuclear plant and thanks to this trip I learn how the nuclear energy can be used to provide benefits to our society.

 

 

4 thoughts on “MIT NUCLEAR REACTOR”

  1. Hey,

    I liked all the information that was included into the blog, though i believe that there could have been a better flow from fact to fact. It seemed that the facts were all bunched together, and some minor detail was missed. This causes the reader to get confused, and creates questions. Other than that, I liked the picture of the facility, and the short, sweet, to-the-point style of your blog.

    bijan

  2. hello,

    I enjoyed reading you blog about the nuclear reactor. It seems like you did some extra research about the plant. great picture by the way!!

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