EFFECTS OF HIGH ENERGY IONIZING RADIATION ON COLLOIDAL SYSTEMS AND SUSPENSIONS. Final Report, March 1, 1962 to October 31, 1963
The effects of x and gamma radiation on several solidliquid colloidal systems was investigated in an attempt to partially or completely neutralize the surface charges on the particles. This might, it was thought, reduce the repulsive, stabilizing forces on the particles in suspension and effect their coagulation and precipitation. With stannic oxide, bacterial, and natural river water suspensions, both types of irradiation resulted in partial charge reduction as measured by microelectrophoretic immigration. Neither resulted in precipitation, however. Ferric and aluminum oxide sols were not amenable to microelectrophoretic mobility measurement, so the effect of radiation on their surface charge could not be determined. Irradiation, nevertheless, was not effective in precipitating these suspensions. Coagulation of bacterial (Escherichia coli) suspension was found only with a combination of low pH and high radiation dose. The effects of ionizing radiation on aerosols of both solid particles and liquid droplets were examined using argon, carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen, and oxygen-nitrogen mixtures as the carrier gases. The source of radiation in these studies was an x-ray machine operated at 60 kvp and 5.5 ma. The only detectable effect of exposure of aerosols to the ionizing radiation was a neutralization of the electrostatic charge they had acquired as a consequence of generation. The principal mechanism of neutralization appeared to be a capture of gas ions and thermal electrons. Exposure of the aerosols to ionizing radiation produced no detectable effect on the degree of coagulation of the aerosol particles. Efforts to measure the effect of exposure to ionizing radiation on the filterability of the aerosols were unsuccessful. The principal effort on emulsions and foams centered about the development of suitable techniques for studying the effects of ionizing radiation on them. Special chambers for both x-ray and ultraviolet irradiations were designed and constructed, and a special microelectrophoresis cell was fabricated. Closed circuit television microscopy was employed. Emulsions were produced with from very low to zero surfactant concentrations in order to reduce effects unrelated to radiation. Also, the use of isopycnic emulsions prepared from liquids of similar viscosities permitted new degrees of freedom to be achieved. Settling was reduced to a minimum, and phase reversal was readily accomplished with the resulting emulsions. Means were provided for conducting studies on emulsion pairs representing two systems, each of which is the reversed phase counterpart of the other. Preliminary observations indicated considerable potential in these techniques for fundamental work. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta. Engineering Experiment Station
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(38-1)-202
- NSA Number:
- NSA-18-012148
- OSTI ID:
- 4104281
- Report Number(s):
- TID-20067
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-64
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACIDITY
AEROSOLS
ALUMINUM OXIDES
ARGON
BACTERIA
CARBON DIOXIDE
CHEMICALS
COLLOIDS
CONFIGURATION
DIAGRAMS
DISPERSIONS
DISTRIBUTION
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC CHARGES
ELECTRONS
ELECTROPHORESIS
ELECTROSTATICS
EMULSIONS
ENERGY
ESCHERICHIA COLI
FABRICATION
FILTERS
FOAMS
GAMMA RADIATION
GASES
GRAIN SIZE
HELIUM
HYDROLOGY
IONIZATION
IONS
IRON OXIDES
IRRADIATION
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIQUIDS
MEASURED VALUES
MIXING
NITROGEN
OXYGEN
PERFORMANCE
PHASE DIAGRAMS
PLANNING
PRECIPITATION
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
RIVERS
SOLIDS
STABILITY
SURFACE TENSION
SURFACES
SU