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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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The Frisch-Peierls memorandum: A seminal document of nuclear history
The Manhattan Project is usually considered to have been initiated with Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin Roosevelt in October 1939. However, a lesser-known document that was just as impactful on wartime nuclear history was the so-called Frisch-Peierls memorandum. Prepared by two refugee physicists at the University of Birmingham in Britain in early 1940, this manuscript was the first technical description of nuclear weapons and their military, strategic, and ethical implications to reach high-level government officials on either side of the Atlantic. The memorandum triggered the initiation of the British wartime nuclear program, which later merged with the Manhattan Engineer District.
Thomas A. Moss
Nuclear Technology | Volume 3 | Number 2 | February 1967 | Pages 71-81
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT67-A27804
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Many different classes of materials are required in the development of advanced Rankine systems. These materials include nuclear fuels in the reactor, refractory metal alloys for alkali metal containment, electrical materials for the alternator, and stainless steel for the radiator. The ceramics uranium carbide and uranium dioxide are presently being considered as reactor fuels for this system. Of the numerous refractory metal alloys available, the tubing alloys FS-85 (Cb-10W-28Ta-1Zr), T-111 (Ta-8W-2Hf), and T-222 (Ta-10.4W-2.4Hf-0.01C), have survived the welding, thermal aging, and mechanical property screening tests. Based on long-time creep data, the alloys TZC (Mo-1.25Ti-0.15Zr-0.12C), TZM (Mo-0.5Ti-0.08Zr), and Cb-132M (Cb-20Ta-15W-5Mo-2Zr-0.13C) appear the best for turbine rotor applications. Long-time property data are becoming available for electrical materials for applications up to 1000°F, and new electrical materials are being developed for higher temperatures. Cermets with properties suitable for applications as alkali-metal-lubricated bearing materials are available. Stainless steel operating below 1400°F will probably be used in radiators for this system.
