laser in "The Manhattan Project?"

[300EVIL]

The really wierd dual surface thing is a resonant reflector, the spacing between the plates is a N multiple of half wavelengths. It doesnt have a coating to fail from bad cleaning and thus was prefered for military duty (yeah, right, somebody just wanted to make bucks off uncle). Do not mess with the resonant reflector!

more in the FAQ.

The retroreflector is supposed to "Reduce" alignment difficulties.

Steve

Ah, thanks for the info Steve. Yeah, I noticed it wasn't coated with anything. Trust me, I'll leave it alone! I guess the retroreflector isn't as much at fault as the silly no adjustment friction mount for mounting the thing.

[Xytrell]

Does an argon (or tunable excimer as mentioned in the beginning) play any role in plutonium enrichment?

[300EVIL]

Does an argon (or tunable excimer as mentioned in the beginning) play any role in plutonium enrichment?

Yes, lasers are used in isotope separation. Argon, Eximer, CVL and maybe others. are used for this process. Exactly how? Don't ask me!

[mixedgas]

co2, cvl pumped IR dye, as far as I know. The exact wavelengths are classified.


from the WIKI:

quote:
Laser

In this method a laser is tuned to a wavelength which excites only one isotope of the material and ionizes those atoms preferentially. The resonant absorption of light for an isotope is dependent upon its mass and certain hyperfine interactions between electrons and the nucleus, allowing finely tuned lasers to only interact with one isotope. After the atom is ionized it can be removed from the sample by applying an electric field. This method is often abbreviated as AVLIS (atomic vapor laser isotope separation). This method has only recently been developed as laser technology has improved, and is currently not used extensively. However, it is a major concern to those in the field of nuclear proliferation because it may be cheaper and more easily hidden than other methods of isotope separation. Tunable lasers used in AVLIS include the dye laser [5] and more recently diode lasers.[6]

A second method of laser separation is known as MLIS, Molecular Laser Isotope Separation. In this method, an infrared laser is directed at uranium hexafluoride gas, exciting molecules that contain a U-235 atom. A second laser frees a fluorine atom, leaving uranium pentafluoride which then precipitates out of the gas. Cascading the MLIS stages is more difficult than with other methods because the UF5 must be refluorinated (back to UF6) before being introduced into the next MLIS stage. Alternative MLIS schemes are currently being developed (using a first laser in the near-infrared or visible region) where an enrichment of over 95% can be obtained in a single stage, but the methods have not (yet) reached industrial feasibility. This method is called OP-IRMPD (Overtone Pre-excitation - IR Multiple Photon Dissociation).
Finally, the SILEX process, developed by Silex Systems in Australia, has recently been licensed to General Electric for the development of a pilot enrichment plant. The method uses uranium hexafluoride as a feedstock, and uses magnets to separate the isotopes after one isotope is preferentially ionized. Further details of the process are unknown


Steve