Radiation Loop

Radiation Loop

 

a system consisting of a closed ring of pipes used for circulating liquid radioactive matter from the core of a nuclear reactor to a point where the radiation is used. Radiation loops with an indium-gallium alloy (which is liquid even at room temperature) are now in use. In the reactor, neutrons activate the stable isotope 115In, which in turn forms the gamma-emitting isotope 116In, which has a half-life T½ ~ 1 hr. The radiation from 116In is used to initiate and stimulate certain technological processes, such as polymer formation.