Inside MIT's Nuclear Reactor - Free Educational videos for Students in K-12

Inside MIT's Nuclear Reactor - By MITK12Videos

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00:01	one of the highest powered nuclear research reactors in the
00:04	U . S . Exists right here . That mitt
00:09	. So what's it like inside ? Yeah . Hi
00:14	. I remember the tour . Awesome . Let's get
00:15	you signed in . Take this . What is this
00:20	? It's a dis emitter . Oh cool . Okay
00:22	. Thanks . No problem . Sarah . They're all
00:24	set . Okay . Hey , Sarah . Mhm .
00:29	Mhm . Wait , what's that ? What's that ?
00:34	That's my life that I turned on to let everybody
00:36	know that I'm in the lab . Okay . So
00:39	what you might not realize is that the reactor has
00:42	very specialized parts and if something breaks or something needs
00:45	to be replaced as preventative maintenance , we can't just
00:47	get a catalog and order a new part . We
00:49	have to actually rebuild it from scratch . So this
00:52	is why we need machine shops here on site .
00:53	So this is where you do that . Yes .
00:56	By P . J . I got started when I
01:01	was a freshman in undergrad . I was hired at
01:05	this part time student operator . And I stayed through
01:08	all my years at MIT and through grad school at
01:11	MIT . And now I work full time here .
01:13	All right , let's keep going . Okay , why
01:19	is there this big imposing door ? So the containment
01:22	building is air tied . And this way any air
01:25	that is going to leave the building goes past detectives
01:29	and filters to make sure that we're not putting radioactive
01:31	material into the atmosphere in Cambridge . Yeah . So
01:36	right now we are . Well , no . Okay
01:45	. So this is where the power is made ,
01:47	right ? No , this is a research reactor .
01:50	So we don't actually generate any electricity . We make
01:53	lots of neutrons which we use for experiments and actually
01:55	were the second highest power level research reactor on a
01:58	university campus in the US . How come ? It's
02:01	so noisy in here ? We have a lot of
02:04	instrumentation running around us . We have some radiation detectors
02:09	. So there's an air monitor here . and we
02:11	also have an area monitor on the wall up there
02:14	. And these help us to know what the radiation
02:17	level is around us as we work because our body
02:20	has no way of sensing radiation . It's not something
02:22	that we can detect as human beings . So we
02:24	have to have instrumentation to help us out . How
02:26	much is that ? What is the .1 means ?
02:29	So it says there are .1 right now and that's
02:31	the reading in milligram per hour , which is a
02:34	unit of radiation per unit time . And to put
02:37	things in perspective , you get about one mg per
02:40	day living in boston from background radiation from space and
02:44	from granite rock on the ground . Let me get
02:46	this straight . We're standing 14 ft away from the
02:50	core of a nuclear reactor . And the amount of
02:53	radiation we're getting is the same as if we were
02:56	standing on the street in Cambridge . How is that
02:59	possible , concrete shielding ? And I'll show you .
03:01	So this is the outside of the shielding around the
03:05	reactor core . This big cylinder of blue thing here
03:09	. Yeah . This light blue cylinder that you see
03:11	here and it's about 5.5 ft thick concrete shielding .
03:16	That's heavy , dense concrete . So it's got metal
03:18	punching in it as well as sand and water .
03:20	That makes it better for absorbing radiation . So it's
03:22	not regular . Yeah , it's special concrete . Nothing
03:25	is regular in the nuclear area . No , that's
03:28	where the nuclear reactions are taking place . So the
03:31	fuel is loaded into the reactor core and the uranium
03:34	2 35 atoms are splitting which releases some neutrons .
03:37	And those get absorbed by other uranium 2 35 atoms
03:40	which split and release more neutrons . So all the
03:42	neutrons that we use come from the core here .
03:45	Hey paul . Uh So what paul doing sir ?
03:50	I was gonna load some silicon into our silicon and
03:53	radiation facility . So one of the things that we
03:57	do here at the reactor is we irradiate silicon to
04:00	be used as semiconductors . So silicon by itself is
04:04	not a good conductor . But by irradiating it with
04:10	neutrons in our reactor , we can change some of
04:13	the silicon atoms to phosphorus atoms , which is called
04:16	doping . So we dope the silicon material so that
04:19	it has a distribution of impurities that cause it to
04:22	become a semiconductor . So semiconductors can be used in
04:25	all kinds of electronic applications . But the way that
04:28	we radiate silicon here , it means that we can
04:30	be very precise . So the silicon that we produce
04:33	here ends up in very critical applications such as airplanes
04:37	and the power grid . Let's go see the reactor
04:39	top . Mm . So this morning we're installing the
04:49	new salt experiment that we've been working on for several
04:51	months . And this experiment will stay in the core
04:54	for 1000 hours to be irradiated by neutrons . Let's
04:57	go . This is the place where the tours normally
05:00	stop . Yes , that's right . And you're gonna
05:02	let me go pass it . Just you . So
05:04	what do I need to , where do I need
05:05	to wear ? So I'll show you what to do
05:10	. You need to , you need to grab some
05:12	rubber booties and put them on your shoes . Mm
05:15	. Mhm . Okay , now I step over here
05:18	. Yeah , hanging to my other shoe is still
05:20	down here , yep . And then I get the
05:23	other one , Yep . Anyone , they're not fair
05:26	. Mhm , mhm , mhm , mhm . So
05:37	we got tape our pockets closed on the reactor top
05:39	area . Because that way we can be tempted to
05:42	put objects in our pockets and then lean over the
05:44	core and have them pull out . So , you
05:47	know , it's very difficult to fish things out of
05:50	the core and it could damage the fuel . Which
05:52	is a risk that we just don't want to take
05:54	. Yeah . Has anything ever fallen into the court
05:57	? Have you ever dropped anything ? I've not dropped
05:59	anything in the core . Do you mind if I
06:03	put this on you ? Uh can I take a
06:10	peek in the court ? Yes , you can take
06:11	a peek in the car . The core is shaped
06:18	like a hexagon and it's made up of 27 diamond
06:21	shapes that fit together to make a hexagon . And
06:24	each of those diamond shapes is a fuel element .
06:27	One of those diamonds is going to hold a cylinder
06:29	, which we're using to hold a special salt that
06:32	could be used in the future to cool down nuclear
06:34	reactors . The reactor is a really good tool protesting
06:36	materials because the core itself is an extremely harsh environment
06:40	. There's very high levels of radiation and we can
06:42	heat the experiment to really high temperatures to really stress
06:45	test the material . So we're standing five ft away
06:48	from an open nuclear reactor core . How are we
06:52	not done ? So , in the cortex , we
06:53	have 10 ft of water between the top of the
06:56	fuel and the top of the water level . And
06:59	the purpose of that serves is to shield us from
07:01	radiation when we're working in the court . And it
07:03	also serves as a reservoir for cooling . So 10
07:06	ft of water is enough to get the dose From
07:10	thousands of room for second to 10 mg/h , yep
07:14	. It's kind of insane . It's amazing why is
07:17	water so good . What is really good at absorbing
07:20	neutrons ? Mhm . Yeah . Fatah that's what would
07:26	be success . I guess we're ready for the next
07:29	step . So the first thing we do is take
07:30	the gloves off . Yeah . Mhm . Mhm mm
07:39	. Yeah . So this is one of our neutron
07:50	beams that you can use to do experiments outside the
07:53	reactors . The neutrons come from the reactor along this
07:55	beam line when you place your experiment sample on the
07:58	beam line and detectors and you can do the experiment
08:01	here . So right now Gordon's explaining to students how
08:04	they're going to use the neutron beam for their lab
08:06	class for their experiment . And so the students can
08:09	set up their experiment here on the green line and
08:12	then they can collect the data that they need completely
08:14	remotely from their dorm room . So students at MIT
08:17	can actually do experiments at the reactor . Yeah yeah
08:20	. We have a lot of student participation here at
08:22	the reactor . So what kind of experiments do students
08:25	do with the neutron ? So you can calculate the
08:27	reactor's power level based on the speed that the neutrons
08:30	are traveling . You can figure out how good a
08:32	material is that absorbing neutrons and you can also figure
08:35	out the shape of molecules based on the way neutrons
08:38	pants off them . Hey , that's pretty awesome .
08:40	All right , next . So this is mike and
08:48	he's one of the experimenters working in the hotbox .
08:50	Like what you working on . Uh So what we're
08:54	doing here is we're disassembling experiments that have been in
08:59	the core of the reactor in this shielded box .
09:02	So the hotbox is useful for uh storing and handling
09:09	materials that have come out of the reactor . They
09:11	need to go in here because there to radioactivity handle
09:15	close up but we can handle them inside here because
09:19	of the lead shielding in the walls here . How
09:23	much radiation are we talking here ? So the radiation
09:25	levels inside the hot box are about 30,000 times higher
09:30	than they are out here . And so that's why
09:32	we have samples and the materials that we've taken out
09:34	of the reactor inside here . But we can work
09:37	on them safely using these initiators . So what's that
09:41	sample ? The sample I've got there is a piece
09:45	of silicon carbide with a chromium layer on the inside
09:50	and it's a potential replacement for current reactor cladding .
09:57	So we're testing it to see how well it does
10:00	under radiation and temperature and conditions typical for power reactor
10:07	. I have a question for you sure . Yes
10:10	, you can wait . Really ? Oh of course
10:13	I never get to do this sort of thing actually
10:15	. You know we've got a little polly violin there
10:17	. Sometimes . The trickiest thing is closing the lips
10:20	on the vials . This is fun . Mhm .
10:35	Thanks . Yeah . Mhm . Mhm . Mhm .
10:47	Hey tom . Sarah tom's making gold radioactive for medicine
10:54	. Wait what ? So we were actually going to
10:57	be taking some gold pellets and using rabbit uh insert
11:01	them into the reactor into an area of a lot
11:03	of neutrons . Uh And the neutrons will make the
11:06	gold radioactive . So when the sample comes out we
11:08	can then ship it to a hospital where they can
11:11	inject them into a tumor in order to cause radiation
11:14	damage directly to that too . So wait , what
11:16	about rabbits ? So they're not real rabbits . We
11:19	have these poly sample holders where we put the gold
11:22	directly into . So you put the gold in the
11:24	rabbit and the rabbit would go from where we inserted
11:27	it through this too and into the reactor . And
11:33	then when it's finished it will come down the tube
11:35	and out into our shielded hot South . So when
11:39	the material's radioactive , the radiation is all contained inside
11:43	of our shielded area to work with . Okay .
11:44	See you tom let's go to the next stop .
11:47	Okay . Mhm . So we're about to enter the
11:52	control room and the control panel is on the right
11:54	so please try to keep on the left so I
11:57	shouldn't push any buttons . Right ? No . Hey
12:00	guys . So this is the control room and uh
12:05	the most important thing in the control room is the
12:07	operator who is Sarah Right now . Sarah is actually
12:11	a student operator . And paul is the shift supervisor
12:15	currently . So right now they're working on the startup
12:18	checklist to start the reactor back up . Cool .
12:21	Weren't you doing something with silicon earlier ? I was
12:25	indeed . But you finished I finished that and now
12:28	you're here , correct . Isn't it weird how one
12:31	person can move from one place to another ? Do
12:33	you have a favorite button ? Yes . This is
12:39	the major scram button which I've only ever pressed during
12:42	testing . Never actually had two major scram . It's
12:45	one of our emergency shutdown buttons and it automatically drops
12:48	all the control blades in and it isolates are ventilation
12:51	in case something were to get out . But I
12:53	just like it because it's the big stereotypical red button
12:56	in the reactor . Do you know what every single
12:59	one of all of these buttons do ? Yes .
13:06	Some of the experimental ones . Uhh I was uncovered
13:10	in my training because I don't have to run the
13:12	experiments . But all of the regular operations with .
13:15	Mhm . Mhm . What does high temp d to
13:20	a reflector cleanup system ? So the reflector system with
13:24	heavy water has a cleanup loop where it flows through
13:27	an ion column . And if the water gets above
13:29	50 degrees it could potentially damage the resin in the
13:32	iron columns . So that alarm will go off to
13:34	tell you that you need to cool down or you
13:36	need to bypass . What does dP 3 30 P
13:39	. S . I . G . Me . So
13:41	that's one of our pressure gauges for our heavy water
13:45	system . That's what the D . Means . That
13:46	tells you reflect your system , the peas pressure and
13:49	then three is just the number two . Marketing it
13:50	what's this gauge do ? This is for auto control
13:53	. So using this gauge here you can set your
13:55	auto control to tell the reactor this is the power
13:58	I want to stay at and this gives you the
14:00	percent deviation . So if you're too high or low
14:03	, that needle will tell you you want to keep
14:05	it at zero . What's this knob ? So we
14:07	have six different shin blades and you can only move
14:11	one at a time . So this is to select
14:13	which one you want right now . Three is selected
14:15	. Okay ? You can turn it and you can
14:18	pick a differently , just whichever one you want to
14:20	move . What is this ? This is the official
14:25	consul oclock . So you're a student , you say
14:28	, okay , what year are you ? I am
14:30	a software . So you're a sophomore at MIT and
14:33	you are running a nuclear reactor . That's pretty freaking
14:37	awesome . Okay , so what kind of training do
14:40	you have to go through to be able to sit
14:42	at this council ? So there's a lot of studying
14:46	through systems , manuals , technical specifications , all the
14:49	alarms and procedures . And then there's hands on training
14:52	where you come and you sit training watches and you'll
14:54	perform practice startups supervised by your training supervisor . Okay
14:59	? So you passed my test but please tell me
15:01	there's a legit test you also have to pass .
15:04	Right ? They applying an examiner . It was um
15:08	examiner from the NRC and she'll come and she will
15:11	watch me do a start up in a shutdown .
15:13	Uh She'll I'll give her a tour around the facility
15:16	and she'll ask me a bunch of different questions about
15:18	our systems and then she'll give me a written exam
15:20	that covers safety procedures , um radiation protection , reactor
15:25	, physics , things like that . So you have
15:26	to be prepared in all areas of your training for
15:29	the exam . So did you pass ? So I
15:32	have passed the exam which means I'm licensed by the
15:34	government to be able to take shifts and be on
15:36	console by myself um to start up the reactor .
15:40	You still need your supervisor in the control room with
15:42	you but I can perform all the operation duties in
15:45	here . All right thanks guys . You okay ?
16:02	So this is looking for contamination that someone may have
16:07	gotten forward with containment . And what happens if it's
16:10	not clean ? Like what do you do it ?
16:12	This is dirty . Okay . Well first we'll tell
16:15	you where . So that helps right if it's your
16:18	left toe or you're right right hand it's usually pretty
16:21	little level . So to get the contamination off think
16:24	of it like dust and so we'll use tape we'll
16:27	have like hand washing and usually it's as simple as
16:31	something on a lab coat cuff to say that somebody
16:34	has been working with the contaminated sample and we'll just
16:37	take that lab coat and put it in our laundry
16:39	facility and get clean . This looks like you know
16:41	that thing from the movie here seller ? Yes .
16:43	I love it . Yeah . What's the stars ?
16:46	Stars ? Yeah , It looks like cars . Mhm
16:51	. 5432 one Cruz . Okay . Can we go
16:59	? Yeah , that's good . These are both backups
17:07	that monitor where the malfunction . Thanks for the tourists
17:18	. Uh No worries . There's one more thing we
17:20	have to do though . I have to get your
17:21	dosimeter back . All right . Yes . Here you
17:24	go . Thank you . So , it's reading still
17:29	the same . So . Okay . So wait a
17:31	second . We just spent all day inside a nuclear
17:35	reactor and the radiation dose has not changed at all
17:39	, correct ? Amazing . Thanks for coming . Thanks
17:43	for having us . Mhm . Yeah . Come back
17:47	anytime . Thanks . Yeah . Yeah .

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