Atomic Energy in Industry’ 
By H. A. Winne, Fellow AIEE, Vice President in Charge of Engineering Policy, 
General Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y. 
In the production of special ma- 
terials, engineering, scientific, and 
industrial groups already have con- 
tributed much to the start of the 
atomic age. The transformation of 
the basic uranium to a degree of purity 
and form suitable for plutonium 
production in the Hanford Engineer 
Works is just one example. The 
production of graphite for the Hanford 
piles, sufficiently free of neutron-ab- 
sorbing impurities to allow a chain 
reaction with natural uranium, was a 
signal achievement. However, all that 
has been accomplished thus far repre- 
sents just a beginning. 
The use of materials in a nuclear 
chain reactor or “‘pile”’ involves con- 
sideration of their “nuclear proper- 
ties.” 2 Previous uses of engineering 
and construction materials have been 
based only on external physical and 
chemical properties. The addition of 
suitable nuclear properties to the list of 
requirements portends many changes 
from the engineering materials which 
have become common. ‘The periodic 
table contains many elements whose 
possibilities as useful engineering ma- 
terials never have been explored 
thoroughly because of such factors as 
scarcity, cost, and difficulty of process- 
1 Reprinted by permission from Electrical 
Enginecring, vol. 66, No. 7, July 1947. 
2 “Nuclear properties” refer to properties 
such as those which make materials good for 
slowing down neutrons (moderator) or low 
in absorption of neutrons or suitable to 
withstand radiation of neutrons in a pile 
(radiation stability). 
ing. Many of these have attractive 
nuclear properties, but production 
methods for refining, reduction, alloy- 
ing, and working, have not been 
developed. Beryllium is an example 
mentioned by Smyth (1)? which is 
valuable as a moderator because of its 
low atomic weight. The production 
of metallic beryllium essentially free 
of neutron-absorbing impurities is still 
almost a laboratory process. 
The potential uses of atomic power 
plants for various special purposes such 
as ship propulsion, or for the provision 
of a source of power where none now 
exists, that is, supplementing present 
power sources, have been mentioned 
by many writers. However, atomic 
power development as a whole will be 
a long and difficult process. 
The use of radioactivity and radia- 
tion in chemical and metallurgical 
fields has been possible on a very 
limited scale for a good many years. 
It has not been exploited widely, 
largely, no doubt, because of the 
scarcity and cost of radioactive ele- 
ments. The development of atomic 
energy makes possible the production 
of radioactive isotopes of great variety 
and on a considerable scale. ‘This, 
together with widespread interest and 
education in the fields of radio chem- 
istry, radiation chemistry, and nuclear 
physics, should stimulate activity in 
using these unique and potent tools. 
3 Numbers in parentheses refer to references 
at end of article. 
177 
