SOME EUROPEAN NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH CENTERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00423R000301040002-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 27, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: REPORT

11546 c1ed For`Itelease.200(~f
*USAF DQ asslReteaase Instructions-fin
Sweden/Netherlands/Denmark/Germany
Subject: Some European
Place Acquired: -----
Date Acquired:
Date of Info:
Goon ry+.
A 1732
Nuclear Energy Research Centers
This ~11;u~lcl~, t i in orrration for us Officials
only is supplied for the possible interest of
your analysts. It as not warrant dissemi-
nation 25X1 A2g
1
Source: US citizen, PhD, professor of physics at a well-known US university.
In addition to teaching, he is working under contract to the US
military establishment in the field of solid-state physics. In
touring various European research institutes 'in the fall of 1952
he came in contact with the following nuclear research centers:
[The information in this report has been obtained by the Department of
the Air Force (Air Technical Intelligence Center) and is disseminated by
CIA in accordance with paragraphs 2(h) and 3(e) of National Security
Council Intelligence. Directive #7.J
SWED1W
Division of Electronics at the Royal Institute of Technolo~ Kun l
Tekniska Ho sko1an KTH Stockholm - 13 Sep 52
At the Royal Institute of Technology I visited several groups or departments
including the Division of Physics I (there are two) under Professor G.
Borelius, the Division of Applied Mathematics II (Mathematical Physics)
under Professor Lame 'k Hulther, and the Division of Electronics under Professor
Fiannes Alfren.
In the Division of Electronics, the motion of charged particles in electric
and magnetic fields are being studied. Two synchrontrons have been built,
35Mev and 70Mev.
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The model experiments on aurora discharge are very ingeneous. A large
metal chamber-,a couple of feet in diameter and several feet long with a
heavy glass window at one end is used as a discharge chamber. Magnetic
fields can be applied in a variety of ways and equipment to handle heavy
discharge currents for a few seconds is available so that discharges can
be set up which lpok4the way aurora discharges do. I feel that progress
in understanding the aurora will come much faster with this type of
investigation than by extensive observation of the natural aurora. An
idea for a new type of accelerator is being worked on and while the scheme -?~.
had not been made towork when I visited the laboratory I believe the idea
is a good one. Imagine a long narrow plane cathode surface. Accelerating Q ~`-
.,electrodes accelerate' and focus the electron streams at a d,stcnce a few 0M
"CC
inches from the plane of the cathode. Between the cathode and the focal
line there is a wave guide system which with the travelling wave present
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should cause the beam to bunch or accumulate groups of electrons along the
ions axis or focal line. Since the wave is travelling these bunches of
electrons should a ear to move along the focal line since the electron
charge density at any point along the focal line will rise and fall with
time. Imagine now a. stream of protons directed along the focal line.
The negative space charge bunches will attract the protons and the negative
charge bunches will appear to move as a travelling wave and so accelerate
the protons. It is of course not an easy task to make such a device work,
but it does look possible.
The Swedish Atomic Energy Co., Stockholm - 13 Sep 52
1t. I talked with Dr. S. Eklund who is head of the Physics Laboratory of the
Atomic Energy Company. The program of work is at present directed mainly
at, getting the reactor built and operating. There is some work directed
at the study of neutron diffusion especially in graphite. I talked at
length with Dr. G. Von Dardel about the neutron work.
5. At present;[September 1952) the excavation of the region which will
house the reactor is underway. The reactor building will be set in solid
rock extending a hundred feet below the surface. Much of the excavation
is complete but the actual building is not yet started [15 Sep 52J. It
is estimated that the building and the reactor will be completed in one
and a quarter to one and a half years. I doubt that both things can be
done in this amount of time.
Most of the time which I spent at the Atomic Energy Laboratory was in
talking with Dr. G. Von Dardel about neutron diffusion in carbon. I was
not particularly impressed with the equipment employed. One type of
experiment which they are now doing is that of bombarding a target with
150 kw protons to obtain neutrons. Neutrons are produced in a block of
graphite. Protons are sent into the target in two to four micro-second
pulses so that the neutrons are then also sent out from the target in
pulses. The response of a detector to the burst of neutrons arriving
at the outside of the graphite is then taken as a function of time. This
work,'of course, involves a neutron spectrometer which is described in
Swedish Arkiv Ftr Fysik Bd 5 8 page 121.
The energy of the neutrons in question is one electron volt and less.
The distribution of velocities in the original burst of neutrons is not
known.
8. The ion source is a modified Werner type and supplies only 100 - 200
microamperes of protons, The source is unimpressive as regards the
amount of protons supplied but it is quite compact.
A two megavolt Van do Graff is present but apparently under repair most
of the time. The machine would be used for experiments similar to the
above if it were not sc'clumsy to use.
10. In addition to the neutron diffusion experiments work on dosage meters
and health physics is also planned and underway. The present group is
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onlyna skeleton group which is to be expanded considerably when
the reactor aqd other equipment are ready.
An exchange relationship is now in existence between North
from N. C. ,State is now working in Stockholm and one of the
Carolina State and, the. Atomic Energy Co. - a man named Waltner
Atomic Energy Co. men is at N. C. State.
An experiment now planned but not yet performed
and`is as follows:
13.
Uranium
ttt~~~ detector
Section, Through Rotating Wheel
This expertmen will allow the
resonance dive
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s of interest
Consider the following
experimental arrangement
of an aluminum wheel with
Uranium oxide powder glued
to one side of the wheel
as indicated. The wheel
in question can be rotated
very rapidly. Behind the
wheel is a uranium detector
for the neutrons penetrating
the Uranium Oxide (and the
wheel) to enter. Neutrons
are incident at -an angle
(less than 900) and normal
to the radius of the wheel.
There is a 6.6 electron
volt reeonaice in. Uranium.
easurement of the shape ofthe
ntorma
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Nobel Inst,tute, Stockholm - 15 Sep 52
14. M. Sie gbahn and Kai Sighbahn together with L. Hulthen showed me the Pray
spectrometer for precision analysis of the lines of such materials as
.thorium ThB where with this equipment line widths of F and.,,) lines, for
example, can be compared. The magnet is pulsed (few seconds) - the
qu ntity is very constant with deviation less than one part in
10~ over a period of 500 days.
15. Another type of n-ray spectrometer is that with a double focus on a cylinder
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COILS
'In general the Nobel Institute is working on nuclear problems. The
cyclotron (22 mev. deuterons) is in operating condition. It is a standard
cyclotron of the older type. A nuclear spectrometer for heavy particles
(energies and angular distributions) has been built. The spectrometer is
a sector magnet of angle 1800. The source and the detector are outside
the field gap. The magnet produces a 17,000 gauss.field with a mean gap
of about 5 cm.
16. A 1.5 Mev accelerator for heavy particles consists of a seven step cascade
generator with an R.F. ion source. A 900 deflecting magnet is the analyzer
(r=l+0 cm.)
Philips.of Eindhoven - 26 Sep 52,
17. In the field of nuclear physics Philips builds cyclotrons and betatrons to
order. They have built the 28 m.e.v. dueteron cyclotron now in the
Institute of Nuclear Physics at Amsterdam. Philips is concerned mainly
with instrumentation in the field of nuclear physics - counters, photo
devices, multipliers etc.
DENMARK
Institute for Theoretical Physics (Niels Bohr's Institute)
18. I with Dr. Koch of this institute, found that while it is known as an
institute for theoretical physics it is rapidly becoming more of an
experimental facility for nuclear research. A large cyclotron is under-
way but still in early stages. Mass spectroscopy appears to be the main
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and different to investigate further.
GE WiNY
Max Planck Institute - 15 Nov '52
19. I visited the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen'for a few hours. Dr.
eneral and
i
n g
W. Heisenberg talked with me about conditions in Germany
the institute in particular. We had previously met when Heisenberg
visited the US about two years ago. The Physics part of the Max Planck
Institute is devoted entirely to nuclear problems--problems concerned,
withl cosmic rays and cloud-chambers for cosmic ray work. Related work
on photographic detection and counters is also underway. A microscope
of very elaborate and expensive construction built by Zeiss especially
for following cosmic ray tracks in emulsions and for measuring very
small angles on these cosmic ray tracks was given to Heisenberg as a
birthday present'. The equipment and buildings in the Institute seem
to be new and in excellent condition.
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