Articles tagged with "thorium"
World's first nuclear clock to probe fine-structure constant change
A team of researchers at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) has demonstrated that the world’s first nuclear clock, developed in 2024 using thorium nuclear transition technology, can be used to test whether the fine-structure constant changes over time. The fine-structure constant, approximately 1/137, is a fundamental dimensionless value that quantifies the strength of electromagnetic interactions, governing how light interacts with matter and influencing the forces that hold atoms together. If this constant were found to vary, it would challenge the long-held assumption that the laws of physics are fixed and universal. Unlike traditional atomic clocks that rely on electron behavior, the nuclear clock measures energy transitions within the atomic nucleus itself. The thorium nucleus shifts between two energy states, altering its shape and the distribution of its electric field, particularly its quadrupole component, which depends directly on the fine-structure constant. By precisely measuring these transitions in thorium-containing crystals, the researchers achieved a sensitivity to variations in the fine-structure
materialsnuclear-clockthoriumfine-structure-constantatomic-physicsprecision-measurementelectromagnetic-interactionNew nuclear fuel in US blends thorium, uranium to cut waste, cost
US scientists at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in partnership with Clean Core Thorium Energy and Texas A&M University, have developed and tested a novel nuclear fuel called ANEEL (Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life). This fuel blends thorium with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), enriched between 5% and 20% uranium-235, aiming to reduce nuclear waste, enhance reactor safety, and lower operational costs. Unlike typical fuels used in pressurized heavy-water reactors (PHWRs) that contain less than 0.72% uranium-235, ANEEL’s design is proliferation-resistant and can be used in existing PHWRs without requiring reactor or fuel bundle modifications. The ANEEL fuel pellets, fabricated with a proprietary thorium-uranium oxide blend featuring an annular shape for gas management, underwent months of irradiation testing at INL’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Initial post-irradiation examinations revealed that the fuel maintained its structural
energynuclear-fuelthoriumuraniumadvanced-reactorsnuclear-waste-reductionreactor-safetyTrung Quốc hồi sinh công nghệ lò phản ứng muối nóng chảy thorium
energythoriumnuclear-reactorChinamolten-salt-reactorrenewable-energyenergy-production