or microtubule asters, just as with life in general, sometimes you get stuck in a corner. And, say Cendrine Faivre-Moskalenko and Marileen Dogterom (FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Amsterdam, Netherlands), it can take a catastrophe to get things moving again. Dogterom has been trying to reproduce aster behavior in the minimal environment of a microfabricated chamber. Her beads, ...

or microtubule asters, just as with life in general, sometimes you get stuck in a corner. And, say Cendrine Faivre-Moskalenko and Marileen Dogterom (FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Amsterdam, Netherlands), it can take a catastrophe to get things moving again. Dogterom has been trying to reproduce aster behavior in the minimal environment of a microfabricated chamber. Her beads, ...

The thick target neutron energy spectra of the reaction Be(p,n) were measured 9 at several angles for proton bombarding energies of 3.0, 3.4, 3.7, 4.0 and 5.0 MeV. Time-of-flight techniques were used to determine the neutron energy spectra and to discriminate against background radiation. By using lithium-loaded glass scintillators and low proton pulse rate frequency, the neutron spectra have b...

The ratio of the neutron-induced fission cross-sections of Am and U was measured in the energy range from 0.5 to 20 MeV with uncertainties of ≈4%. The experiment was performed at the CERN n TOF facility using a fast ionization chamber. With the good counting statistics that could be achieved thanks to the high instantaneous flux and the low backgrounds, the present results are useful for resolv...

The initiation of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership includes nuclear-based transmutation devices to recycle the spent fuel. Fusion can offer an alternative to the use of fast reactors for the transmutation of actinides. At a modest fusion power of 20 MW, a Z-Pinch driven sub-critical blanket can burn actinides and produce power. Several engineering issues have been examined: the effect of t...

In the frame of dependable neutron flux instrumentation development for Generation IV reactors, French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) investigates an innovative technology based on optical signal produced within a fission chamber. such gaseous detectors, neutrons interact with fissile material, releasing heavy ions in MeV range, eventually leading to spontaneous photons emissi...