Godiva device

The Godiva apparatus (English Godiva device, also: Lady Godiva or Godiva reactor ) was an unshielded, pulsed research reactor to February 1957 was at Los Alamos National Laboratory ( LANL ) in New Mexico in April 1952 in operation. It was used in the technical department 18 (TA -18) and used to generate controlled gamma and neutron radiation pulses. Were irradiated test objects for investigation of materials under radiation exposure.

The name Godiva comes from the physicist Otto Frisch. He called the reactor based on the English legend of Lady Godiva so, " ... because he was naked and unprotected ... ".

The reactor core was a ball of metal, highly enriched uranium of about 30 cm diameter. The sphere was divided into three parts and was at the upper end of a two-meter high metal framework. The ball three parts were first combined and then dropped through a hole an existing also highly enriched uranium cylinders, which ran through the center of the sphere to produce a radiation pulse. Sphere and cylinder were together for a short time a critical mass so that a fission chain reaction started, which was extinguished quickly ..

The reactor design was chosen based on a previous system named Jemima. Jemina sat remote controlled sequential multiple slices enriched uranium to reach critical mass. On April 18, 1952, much fissile material was assembled as a result of a miscalculation, which led to a prompt supercritical state and a reactor scram. The fast shutdown technique was at Godiva improved.

Otto Frisch himself received a larger dose of radiation when he leaned during maintenance in 1954 for a few seconds over the phone. He noted that the indicator lights of the neutron detector lit continuously. Frisch's body reflected a sufficiently large amount of neutrons back to the reactor and brought him in critical condition. Fresh leaned back immediately and removed a part of the uranium. He had no complaints, but said: "A few more seconds and the dose would probably have been fatal. "

On February 3, 1954 and 12 February 1957, occurred prompt Kritikalitätsunfälle in which fortunately no one was injured. The reactor was damaged beyond repair after the second accident and was taken out of service. As a substitute Godiva II was built. This reactor is still in operation today.

Credentials

• Morris J. Engelke, Bemis Jr., Edwin A.; Sayeg, JA: LA- 2569 Neutron tissue dose rate survey for the Godiva II critical assembly (pdf, 598 kB) Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. May 1961. Retrieved on 28 February 2008.
• Garcia, Manual: Test Plan for Godiva Move from LANL TA- 18 to NTS DAF ( pdf) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 8. August 2005. Retrieved on 28 February 2008. Id = UCRL -TR- 214269
• A. H. Kazi, Dubyoski, H. G.; Dickinson, RW: Preoperational Test Experience with the Army Pulse Radiation Facility Reactor ( pdf) United States Atomic Energy Commission. Pp. 353-371. In 1969. Retrieved on 28 February 2008.
• McLaughlin et al. A Review of Criticality Accidents / 2000 Audit / LA- 13638 (pdf, 3.9 MB) Los Alamos National Laboratory. May 2000. Retrieved on 28 February 2008. LA- 13638 covers United States, Russia, United Kingdom, and Japan, and is also available here ( PDF, 3.9 MB) and at this page, ie Which tries to track down documents referenced in the report.