48 results about "Radioactive Disintegrations" patented technology

A method of using nuclear waste material and exploiting heat generated by radioactive decay of said radioactive waste, comprising the steps of incorporating solid nuclear waste into glass, ceramic, or cementitious blocks, covering the blocks in heat absorbing sealed containers, placing the sealed containers in a columnar arrangement in a gas tight containment room, circulating a heat exchange gas around said containers, passing the heated gas through a sealed heat exchanger, and using the heated water for useful work.

An apparatus and method for generating electrical power from the decay process of a radioactive material is disclosed, wherein a volume of radioactive material and a junction region are enclosed in a cell. The junction region is formed by appropriate construction of a number of p-type and n-type dopant sites. At least a portion of one of the junction regions is disposed within a porous region having an aspect ratio of greater than about 20:1, and disposed at an angle of greater than about 55° measured relative to the surface area in which it is formed. The dimensions and shapes of the macroporous regions and the improved junction region surface area available for collecting charged particles emitted during a radioactive decay series permit an improved current to be derived from the apparatus than would otherwise be expected given its external dimensions.

A computerized system 40 for locating a device. System 40 includes a sensor module 20 and a CPU 42. A radioactive source 38, associated with the device, produces a signal in the form of radioactive disintegrations. Module 20 includes a radiation detector 22 capable of receiving a signal from source 38 attached to the device. Module 20 produces an output signal 34. CPU 42 receives output signal(s) 34 and translates output 34 into directional information relating to a position of source 38.

A method of detecting an activator, the method including impinging with an activator a receptor material lacking a photoluminescent material and generating a by-product of a radioactive decay due to the activator impinging the receptor material. The method further including, generating light from the by-product via the Cherenkov effect and identifying a characteristic of the activator based on the light.

A signal source for use as a frequency source or time keeping signal source includes a radioactive emission source generating a substantially periodic signal corresponding to a radioactive material's disintegration rate. A radioactive emission detector generates a radioactive emission detection signal and, to stabilize the detected periodic signal, a dead time controlling attenuator blanks or shuts off the radioactive emission detection signal for a selected dead time interval in response to each detected radioactive emission (i.e., a detected signal pulse or signal component) generated by the source. The dead time controlling attenuator output provides a long-term and short-term a stable periodic signal.

The invention relates to a method for rapidly measuring 222Rn and 220Rn daughter concentration in air in terms of an alpha general count. An air sampling pump is utilized to collect radon daughters in the air to a filtering membrane, an alpha disintegration total count on the filtering membrane is measured, and therefore air concentration of the radon daughters is calculated. Two kinds of measuring periods exist, namely a short-time interval measuring period and a long-time interval measuring period. When a short-time interval t is taken as the measuring period, data larger or equal to six measuring periods are utilized and nonlinear fitting or the least square method is utilized so as to obtain 222Rn and 220Rn daughter activity on the filtering membrane at the beginning measurement. When long-time intervals, namely t1, t2, t3, t4, t5 and t6 are taken as measuring periods which are 6 in number, the 222Rn and 220Rn daughter activity on the filtering membrane at the beginning measurement can also be obtained. The radioactive decay law and the accumulation law of the 222Rn and 220Rn daughters on the filtering membrane in the sampling process are utilized, and therefore the 222Rn and 220Rn daughter concentration in the air can be obtained in a backstepping mode.

The invention provides a technical scheme of a method for measuring mass of radioactive substance through a gamma camera and a gamma spectrometer. By means of the technical scheme, the gamma camera can be used for obtaining a three-dimensional distribution function of tested substance so as to obtain accurate and reliable detecting efficiency, the radioactive decay formula is used for calculating the mass (activity) of radioactive substance in an object to be tested, the ability of measuring the mass (activity) of radioactive substance is improved, the application range is widened, and uncertainty of the gamma spectrometer measuring the mass (activity) of radioactive substance is reduced.

The present invention is directed α-particle emitting nanoparticles that comprise a lanthanide phosphate sequestration shell enclosing an α-emitting-radioisotope-doped lanthanide phosphate core such that the shell allows at least some of the α emissions from the α-emitting radioisotope to pass therethrough and prevents at least some radioactive decay products of the α-emitting radioisotope from exiting the α-particle emitting nanoparticle. Further, such α-particle emitting nanoparticles may be coated with gold and functionalized. Additionally, a method for making and using the same are disclosed.

An apparatus for marking objects is disclosed. The apparatus comprises (a) a source device including a mother isotope for emitting daughter isotopes by radioactive decay; preferably (b) a positioning mechanism for positioning an object in close proximity to the source device; and (c) a patterning mechanism for restricting implantation of the daughter isotopes into a surface of the object, so as to create a detectable pattern of the daughter isotopes on the object.

A thermionic (TI) power cell includes a heat source, such as a layer of radioactive material that generates heat due to radioactive decay, a layer of electron emitting material disposed on the layer of radioactive material, and a layer of electron collecting material. The layer of electron emitting material is physically separated from the layer of electron collecting material to define a chamber between the layer of electron collecting material and the layer of electron emitting material. The chamber is substantially evacuated to permit electrons to traverse the chamber from the layer of electron emitting material to the layer of electron collecting material. Heat generated over time by the layer of radioactive material causes a substantially constant flow of electrons to be emitted by the layer of electron emitting material to induce an electric current to flow through the layer of electron collecting material when connected to an electrical load.

The invention relates to a measurement and determination method for an age of a uranium sample. The method comprises: dissolution of a proper number of uranium samples is carried out; 234Th in a dissolving solution is measured; a 234U in the dissolving solution is measured; radiochemical separation is carried out on thorium in the dissolving solution; the 234Th and the 234U in the separated product are measured respectively; and then the age of the uranium is calculated based on the known Bateman equation and the radioactive decay rule. With the method, the operation flow is simplified; the employed alpha spectrometer and beta spectrometer do not need detection efficiency scale; the uncertainty of the analysis result due to the detection efficiency scale of the alpha spectrometer and beta spectrometer can be avoided theoretically; and during the separation and measurement processes, no extra radioactive tracer is required.

A method of isolating 99Mo produced using a (n,γ) reaction according to example embodiments may include vaporizing a source compound containing 98Mo and 99Mo. The vaporized source compound may be ionized to form ions containing 98Mo and 99Mo. The ions may be separated to isolate the ions containing 99Mo. The isolated ions containing 99Mo may be collected with a collector. Accordingly, the isolated 99Mo may have a relatively high specific radioactivity and, in turn, may be used to produce the diagnostic radioisotope, 99mTc, through radioactive decay.

A self-powered ‘near field’ lithographic system 100 includes three primary components, namely, a thin film or emitter substrate 110 including a radioactive material (e.g., a radioisotope 112), a target substrate 120 which carries an energy-modifiable layer 122 (e.g., photo-resist) and a stencil (e.g., 130) that is either positioned between the emitter and target substrates fabricated upon and defined in the emitter substrate. The stencil is made from a material capable of blocking particles emitted through radioactive decay from the radioisotope of the emitter substrate. The stencil includes openings or vias 132 patterned to permit selective transmission of the particles emitted through radioactive decay from the radioisotope of the emitter substrate 110, and the stencil is preferably placed up against (or very close to) the target substrate 120.

Disclosed is a method for the measurement of a cellular process, or for the measurement of the effect of a test compound on a cellular process, in one or more different populations of cells. The method comprises providing separate samples of one or more different populations of cells adhering to support particles, the support particles comprising a scintillant substance and being adapted for cell growth. In one embodiment, different samples of cells are introduced into separate reaction vessels in a fluid medium, together with a reagent labelled with a radioisotope, in the presence or the absence of the test compound, under conditions so as to cause a portion of said radiolabelled reagent to become associated with the cells. In another embodiment, multiparameter analysis may be performed to determine the effect of a test compound on a cellular process using two or more different cell populations present in the same well. Measurement of the cellular process, or the effect of a test compound on a cellular process may be made by detecting light emission from the scintillant particles caused by radioactive decay of the radioisotope.

A method for assessing an alpha particle emission potential of a metallic material. A metallic material is initially subjected to a secular equilibrium disruption process, such as melting and / or refining, to disrupt the secular equilibrium of the radioactive decay of one or more target parent isotopes in the material. A sample of the material is treated to diffuse target decay isotopes within the sample such that the measured alpha particle emission directly corresponds to the concentration or number of target decay isotope atoms within the entirety of the sample, enabling the concentration of target decay isotopes in the sample to be determined. The concentration of target parent isotopes in the material may then be determined from the concentration of target decay isotopes and time elapsed from the secular equilibrium disruption process, and may be used to determine a maximum alpha particle emission that the metallic material will exhibit.

The invention discloses a disposable reaction device, a tracer agent synthesizer and a tracer agent production method. The disposable reaction device comprises a disposable reagent bottle, a disposable reactor and a disposable liquid pipeline; the disposable reagent bottle is used for loading substances needed by the reaction, and the substances comprise radioactive isotopes, solvents, reagents and reactants; the disposable reactor can be filled with the loaded substances directly or through the disposable liquid pipeline; the disposable reactor is used for containing the radioactive isotopesand at least one reagent to react, and the disposable reactor can be sealed by using a pierced component; and the disposable liquid pipeline comprises an evaporating element, a filling element, a recovering element and a mass transferring pipe line. The disposable reaction device has the beneficial effects that production of the next-batch of tracer agent can be conducted without the need of waiting for 10 half-life period of radioactive decay, the disposable reaction device makes synthesis of the same or different tracer agents be conducted repeatedly in a short term, and thus the research and production efficiency of the tracer agent is greatly improved. The disposable reaction device does not need to be cleaned, and time, manpower and material resources are greatly saved.

The present invention relates to a time-measurement device comprising a timing-reference circuit on a single substrate or on multiple substrates; a source of radioactive radiation on or in the substrate; and a counter for radioactive decay events on or in the substrate. A control circuit on the substrate is configured to control the integration time of the counter using the timing reference, receive the count signal from the counter, and calculate a time difference between a momentaneous time and a reference time using the count signal, the value of the integration time span, the half life, and a known decay rate of the at least one radioisotope at the reference time.

A sensor for measuring thermal conductivity includes an insulator, a test material over the insulator, a conductor over the test material, and a gas within an open volume adjacent the test material and the conductor. An electrical source is configured to provide an alternating current through the conductor to heat the test material. Leads are connected to the conductor and configured to connect to a voltmeter. A method of measuring thermal conductivity includes disposing the sensor in a reactor core in which a nuclear fuel undergoes irradiation and radioactive decay. An alternating current is provided from the electrical source through the conductor to heat the test material. A voltage is measured as a function of time at the leads connected to the conductor. A thermal conductivity of the test material is calculated based on the voltage measured as a function of time. Methods of forming a sensor are also disclosed.

Undesirable metal cation contaminants, including hafnium, can be reduced from a solution containing Lutetium-177 on a bed of an anion exchange resin. The thus purified solution can be stored and transported in a polypropylene vial, to prevent the possibility of hafnium entering the solution from a glassware wall and of Lutetium from being lost from the solution by chemically reacting with a glassware wall. The vial can be sealed with a rubber stopper which has a polytetrafluoroethylene coating facing the solution to prevent the possibility of contaminants which could interfere with later uses of the Lutetium-177 from leaching into the solution from the rubber stopper. Recipients of the Lutetium-177-containing vial can be provided with a prepackaged column of the anion exchange resin to enable such recipients to remove the hafnium which accumulated in the solution as a product of radioactive decay during shipment.

A sensor for measuring thermal conductivity includes an insulator, a test material over the insulator, a conductor over the test material, and a gas within an open volume adjacent the test material and the conductor. An electrical source is configured to provide an alternating current through the conductor to heat the test material. Leads are connected to the conductor and configured to connect to a voltmeter. A method of measuring thermal conductivity includes disposing the sensor in a reactor core in which a nuclear fuel undergoes irradiation and radioactive decay. An alternating current is provided from the electrical source through the conductor to heat the test material. A voltage is measured as a function of time at the leads connected to the conductor. A thermal conductivity of the test material is calculated based on the voltage measured as a function of time. Methods of forming a sensor are also disclosed.

A portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer comprises a detector of ionizing radiation that is configured to detect radiation from spontaneous radioactive decay within an environment of the portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer and or ionizing radiation that propagates past a front end of the portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer towards its user.

The invention discloses a radon measuring device and a radon measuring method, and particularly relates to the field of radon concentration measurement, and the radon measuring device comprises an instrument box body, and a radon measuring mechanism and a radon measuring system which are installed in the instrument box body; the radon measuring mechanism comprises a radon measuring chamber, a radon daughter filter, a drying pipe, an electromagnetic valve A, an electromagnetic valve B, a flowmeter and a sampling pump; and the radon measuring system comprises an amplifier, a threshold discrimination circuit, a counting circuit, a control circuit and a power supply circuit. To-be-measured air after radon daughters are filtered is collected into a radon measuring chamber through a sampling pump, radon in the measuring chamber is decayed into the radon daughters, [alpha] radioactive decay on a filter membrane is measured, multi-time-period measurement is conducted, the radon daughter concentration is calculated through adoption of a weighted least square method, The whole measuring device can measure radon and radon daughters at the same time, the measuring precision is high, and two measuring modes including a standard measuring mode and a rapid measuring mode are adopted, one mode achieves high-precision measurement, and the other mode achieves rapid measurement.

An environmentally sequestered nuclear spent fuel pool in one embodiment includes sidewalls and a base slab that confine a water impoundment. The pool includes fuel racks containing spent fuel assemblies which heat the water via radioactive decay. A dual liner system enclosing the pool forms an impervious barrier providing redundant provisions for preventing leakage of contaminated pool water into the environment. An interstitial space is formed between the liners which may be maintained at sub-atmospheric pressures by a vacuum pump system that evacuates the space. By maintaining the pressure in the space at a negative pressure with corresponding boiling point less than the temperature of the pool water, any leakage through the inner-most liner into the interstitial space will vaporize and be extracted via the pump for signaling a potential leak in the liner system.

In order to prepare a useful radioactive substance from radionuclides included in high-level radioactive waste and the like, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a radioactive substance including a muon irradiation step for obtaining a first radionuclide by causing negative muons to be incident onto a radioactive target nuclide and triggering a nuclear muon capture reaction. The prepared radioactive substance includes at least one of the first radionuclide and a second radionuclide that is at least one type of a descendant nuclide obtained from the first radionuclide through radioactive decay. An embodiment of the present invention also provides the radioactive substance.

The invention discloses a radon measurement chamber. The chamber comprises a collecting barrel body, wherein the bottom of the collecting barrel body is arranged to be open, a lower bottom plate is arranged at the bottom of the collecting barrel body, the collecting barrel body is fixedly connected with the lower bottom plate through screws, a circuit board is arranged in the lower bottom plate, and a mounting groove is formed in the axis of the lower bottom plate. According to the chamber, the positively charged radon is pushed to the position of the PIPS semiconductor detector through the voltage difference, alpha particles generated by decay are detected by the PIPS semiconductor detector, a pulse model is outputted to an external signal processing circuit, and radon concentration of the measured indoor air is calculated according to the radioactive decay equation, the measurement time and other parameters. The radon measurement chamber is good in sealing performance, reasonable inelectric field arrangement and high in radon daughter collection efficiency, the effect of enhancing the anti-interference capability of the detector is achieved through cooperation of conductive rubber physical isolation and the aluminum shell, and radon measurement accuracy is effectively improved.

The invention discloses a disposable reaction device, a tracer synthesizer and a method for producing a tracer. The disposable reaction device comprises: (1) a disposable reagent bottle, which is used for loading the substances required for reaction, including radioisotopes, solvents, reagents, and reactants; the load can be filled directly or through a disposable liquid pipeline into the disposable reactor; (2) disposable reactors, which are used to contain radioisotopes and at least one reagent for reaction, and can be sealed with pierceable materials; (3) disposable liquid pipelines, including evaporation elements, filling elements, retraction elements, and mass transfer pipelines. The beneficial advantages brought by the present invention are: First, there is no need to wait for 10 half-lives of radioactive decay before proceeding to the next tracer production. Secondly, the disposable reaction device enables the synthesis of the same or different tracers to be repeated in a short time.