ANS Wins First Place for Presentation of Society in 2015 EOH

3/19/2015 Susan Mumm, Editor

Written by Susan Mumm, Editor

ANS Wins First Place for Presentation of Society in 2015 EOH

Congratulations to the American Nuclear Society student chapter at Illinois for its First Place finish for Presentation of Society at the 2015 Engineering Open House!

ANS hosted exhibits introducing visitors to the three concentrations for Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering: power, plasma/fusion, and radiological applications. For the power track, a poster the 2014 Freshmen Round Table created was presented to debunk common nuclear myths. Visitors interacted with a plasma ball to learn about that area. And a Geiger counter and a plate with Uranium Oxide glaze demonstrated the naturally occurring radioactive elements that emit radiation and can be detected and turned into audible clicks.

The following videos show the Mousetrap Reactor Exhibit and the Gliding Arc Plasma Demonstration.

Additional exhibits included the following:

Cloud Chamber
Like a Geiger counter, a cloud chamber is a way to turn radiation into something that can be detected by the 5 senses. The cloud chamber, made by the Freshman Round Table in 2014, uses a supersaturated alcohol vapor to “see” radiation. The vapor, made by a temperature gradient from dry ice underneath and heat on top, can be ionized by radiation from an alpha or beta source. The ionized vapor molecule(s) then become condensation nuclei and a thicker mist forms around them.

DC Plasma Chamber
This chamber ionizes gas through biasing two electrodes, separated by a known length, with a DC current. By controlling the voltage/current, and the gas pressure, different plasma glow regimes can be achieved. Notably, at high enough pressures, an arc discharge can be made. Being a stream of current (essentially a steam of lightning!), an arc discharge can be used to demonstrate the strong interconnection between plasma and magnetism.

RF Plasma Chamber
The RF plasma chamber sustains plasma glow differently than the DC plasma chamber. As the name suggests, the RF plasma chamber uses a current that is alternated at radio frequency (13.56 MHz) to thus create a magnetic field that alternates at the same frequency. This is what keeps electrons and the slower responding ions from recombining.

Can Crusher
An important issue in the plasma science field, especially in the field of nuclear fusion, is magnetic pressure. The use of external magnetic fields to interact with the plasma’s own intrinsic magnetic field to confine the plasma within a magnetic bottle is how the fusion vessel is protected from plasma temperatures that well exceed that of the sun. An analog of this is demonstrated with the can crusher. Run through a coil of wire with the can inbetween, a current induces a current in the opposite direction and results in crushing the can.

Geiger Counter of an RC Car
This demo, made by radiological graduate student Andrew Groll, demonstrates some of the practical applications of detectors. By adding the ability to move the detector around from afar, the Geiger counter could potentially be used in the event of a radiation-based disaster or for homeland security purposes without having to be physically carried around by a person.

See more photos from EOH.


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This story was published March 19, 2015.