Sallyportal: Madly Blogging Reed

Tags


"radiation"


Reedies explain threat from Japan's radiation release

cerenkov_mc2-med.jpg

The alarming news coming out of Japan about potential nuclear reactor meltdowns has sparked considerable interest in Reed's research reactor. The March 17 Oregonian did a nice job of assessing the minimal risk associated with Oregon's two research reactors (Reed and OSU) in its story, "State research reactors can't melt down."

The reactor is used for experiments such as measuring the amount of specific elements in samples. A recent experiment searched shards from an ancient ceramic pot to find impurities in the clay that could help pinpoint the location where the pot was made. Using the reactor allowed researchers to identify the elements while leaving the artifact intact.