Project of a Next-generation ISOL Facility for Exotic Beams at LNL
In the framework of the European program to define a second generation Radioactive Ion Beam facility, LNL are proposing the construction in the next five-seven years of a specialized national facility for RIB originated by fission fragments produced by secondary neutrons. It consists on a two-accelerator ISOL-type facility to provide intense neutron-rich radioactive ion beams of highest quality, in the range of masses between 80 and 160. The conceptual design is based on a high intensity 50 MeV (100 kW) proton linac as driver and on the availability of the heavy-ion accelerator ALPI as post accelerator. The estimated neutron yield is 2 x 10 n/s at 0, high enough to satisfy the demand for an advanced RIB facility. An intense R\&D program on different items is actually in progress in collaboration with other Laboratories and University groups and is moving in a European context.
High power neutron converter for low energy proton/deuteron beams
Abstract In the framework of the European program to define a second generation Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility, the Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL) are proposing the construction in the next years of a specialized national facility for RIB originated by fission fragments produced by fast neutrons (SPES). Protons/deuterons of 40 MeV (150 kW) will produce in a converter about 10 14 neutrons per second centered at around 14 MeV that will induce fission in a suitable fissile target, with the aim of 10 13 fission per second at least. A rotating wheel equipped with light conversion material cooled mainly by thermal radiation has been chosen as converter. The material of the highly activated converter has been selected to withstand the power of the beam without constraints concerning the diffusion of radioactive atoms. Different converter materials, i.e. 12 C and 13 C graphites, glass carbon and boron carbide, have been selected and thermal tests performed with a high power electron beam. The design of the converter prototype for 20 MeV (50 kW) proton/deuteron and the results of the material selection are presented here.
Tethering the Administrative State: The Case Against Chevron Deference for FCC Jurisdictional Claims
Like many other agencies, the Federal Communications Commission has seen significant regulatory growth under President Obama. But unlike health care, financial reform, and other areas, this growth has come without statutory guidance from Congress. The FCC’s assertion of jurisdiction over broadband service is reminiscent of its earlier attempts to regulate cable and to deregulate telephone service, efforts that courts have viewed skeptically in the absence of specific statutory authorization. But this skepticism is in tension with Chevron, which grants agencies substantial deference to interpret ambiguities in the statutes that they administer. This article argues that Chevron deference should not extend to agency jurisdictional claims, such as the FCC’s claim to authority over broadband. For both constitutional and policy reasons, courts should distinguish between agency action that fills a gap in a statutory scheme and action that defines the outer boundary of that scheme. As the Commission’s net neutrality project winds its way through the judicial system, courts should not allow the agency to define the limits of its own authority, and should instead search closely for a grant of authority from Congress.