Isotope Kingdom

Bath, A. H., Edmunds, W. M., Andrews, J. N., Palaeoclimatic trends deduced from the hydrochemistry of a Triassic sandstone aquifer, United Kingdom, In Isotope Hydrology 1978, Internat. Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Vol. 2, p. 545-568, 1979. 

Talbot, J. C. and Darling, W. G. (1997). Compilation of Stable Isotope Data for Rainfall in the United Kingdom. Technical Report (British Geological Survey) Flydrogeology series, Keyworth, British Geological Survey. 

Stable Isotopes Natural and Anthropogenic Sulphur in the Environment Krouse, H. R. Grinenko, V. A., Eds. Wiley Chichester, United Kingdom, 1991 p 440. 

Saelen G., Tyson R. V., Talbot M. R., and Telnaes N. (1998) Evidence of recycling of isotopically light C02(aq) in stratified black shale basins contrasts between the Whitby Mudstone and Kimmeridge Clay formations, United Kingdom. Geology 26, 747-750. 

An open, randomized phase III clinical trial was conducted in various Urological Centres, primarily in the South-West of the United Kingdom, and co-ordinated by the Tenovus Institute. It was designed to incorporate at least 300 patients with histologically confirmed prostatic cancer, radiological and/or isotopic evidence of bone metastases and/or evidence of soft tissue metastases. A life expectancy of at least 3 months was required and the patients had to be sufficiently fit to undergo orchidectomy [90],... 

At about this time it became possible to determine experimentally the masses of nuclei accurately and precisely. At last, after more than a century, John Dalton s view that all atoms of a given element were the same could finally be put to the test. It turned out to be, to collective surprise, a test that Dalton s speculation failed. The masses of the atoms of an element were found to have a spread of values. Because all these atoms, regardless of their mass, belonged to the same element, they were termed isotopes, from the Greek for equal place. Some elements, particularly the light ones, consisted of one or at most two or three isotopes, but the heavier elements in the southern part of the kingdom were often composed of up... 

The number of neutrons in a nucleus does not affect the identity of the element but does affect its mass. Typically, the number of neutrons in a nucleus is similar to (and generally somewhat more than) the number of protons, but numbers of neutrons can vary by a few either way—hence the isotopes. Carbon, for instance, almost always has six neutrons in addition to its six protons, but isotopes with seven and eight protons are also known. The range of numbers of neutrons is greater in the south of the kingdom, as the proportion of neutrons needed to help bind these proton-rich nuclei together increases. At uranium, for instance, the 92 protons are accompanied by about 150 neutrons, with 146 being the most common value. 

The earliest engineering decisions on the nuclear fuel cycle in the United Kingdom were made in the late 1940"s when texts on chemical engineering were few and nuclear engineering was entirely classified. Since that time in the main fields of feed materials and fuel element production, isotope separation, and active reprocessing, three generations of plants have been constructed in Britain. This chapter examines the different objectives, constraints, and achievements in these three fields with examples from the experience of U. K. chemical engineers over the last 30 years. In conclusion it contrasts what was accomplished in the past with limited financial and human resources but a friendly social environment with the different, present position. 

---