ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Fuyumi Ito, Naotake Nakamura, Keiji Nagai, Mitsuo Nakai, Takayoshi Norimatsu
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 465-471
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A7428
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Low-density foam balls with a diameter of ~1 mm were produced from a density-matched emulsion consisting of a resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aqueous solution (W) and an exterior oil of carbontetrachloride/(mineral oil) (O). Phase-transfer catalysts such as an alkyl amine were dissolved in the exterior oil, following which the catalyst moved into the RF solution from the exterior oil. A gelation process was monitored by a complete gelation test. When the basic catalysts were used at room temperature as a phase-transfer catalyst, gelation occurred within 30 to 120 min, whereas when the acidic catalyst was used, gelation occurred within 20 to 30 min at room temperature. When ~0.39 wt% of triethylamine and tri(n-butyl)amine in the oil phase were used, complete gelation took place. A basic catalyst with a long alkyl chain such as dimethyl(n-hexyl)amine did not induce gelation. The gelated balls obtained using the basic catalyst with a short alkyl chain were dried by extraction using supercritical fluid CO2 and the solvent was replaced with 2-propanol to produce the foam structure. Except 0.39 wt% tri(n-butyl)amine, the basic catalysts yielded foam balls with higher densities of 173 to 184 mg/cm3 as compared to those obtained from a benzoic acid catalyst, namely, 158 mg/cm3. The density difference can be attributed to the inclusion of the basic catalyst in the RF solution. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed a surface membrane formation, which can be explained by local concentration at the W/O interface. The cell size of the bulk foam was observed to depend on the catalysts, and it was surmised that the cell sizes varied because of the different gelation rates. A smooth surface membrane tri(n-butyl)amine was used as a catalyst. The membrane obtained on using a basic phase-transfer catalyst was smoother than that obtained on using an acid catalyst. Such a smooth membrane is useful for coating the ablation layer of foam capsule targets.