On Friday, November 6th, we were lucky enough to get to visit the Nuclear Reactor that MIT uses for research. We got a sit down lesson on the brief history of this particular reactor and also how this equipment works and what it can be used for. The thing that struck me most about the whole visit was how hard the staff works to make sure it is a safe space to operate and bring visitors to. From the second we arrived, we were given devices that were able to determine how much radiation we were about to be exposed to. We also double checked for contamination on our hands and feet on the way out. There were tons of monitors all over that place that measured the radiation in the environment, and there was a control room to specifically monitor different levels of radiation, temperature, power, and other measurements that are necessary to keep the space safe. I was really struck by all the preventative measures there were at the nuclear reactor, and it made me feel much better about being there.
The reactor is kept in a building that consists of one large dome of concrete, and inside of that is another large box of concrete and lead that the reactor core is kept inside of. The concrete and lead are too thick for the radiation to get through, so this too is a safety measure, both to keep the radiation inside of the core and in the worst case scenario, to keep it inside of the dome so the city of Cambridge doesn’t have a nuclear crisis. Inside the inner concrete, the core is kept surrounded by water, used as a coolant. There are 27 spaces in the core for fuel cells, although usually only 24 are used and the other three spaces can hold dummies or experiments. The nuclear reactor lab here is of course mostly used for research, so the types of experiments that occur can vary wildly.
I was also surprised that the workspace had some fun and decor in it. There were little decals of molecules and atoms on the walls, which was cute, and I also noticed that one old shipping tank had been nicknamed “Nessie” which I thought was adorable. The people there took their jobs seriously, which is necessary for a space that could be so potentially dangerous, but it was not an anxious environment. I left feeling surprised that it seemed like it would be a fun place to work. Both of our guides were brilliant, well informed, and excellent communicators that were able to explain the information in a fun and passionate way, which can be hard to do when talking about something so complex and challenging as fission and fusion. I’m grateful for the experience I had, because I can honestly say I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to go inside of a nuclear reactor lab ever again.