Aspects of research at Risø. A collection of papers dedicated to Professor T.Bjerge on his seventieth birthday

In 1 956, Risø was a peaceful and sparsely inhabited peninsula in Roskilde Fjord. By 1969, there had developed on this site a research establishment with a staff of about 800 and a wide range of scientific and technological activities. During these years of fruitful growth, Risø was directed by Professor Torkild Bjerge, whose wise judgement, breadth of interest, and commitment to the highest ideals of scientific research are reflected in the pattern of the establishment today. According to the law by which it was founded, Risø has the task of furthering the peaceful uses of atomic energy for the benefit of society. The variety of natural phenomena associated with atomic energy and its ramifications has resulted in a corresponding variety of activities within basic and applied research, while the modest size of the establishment has made necessary the virtue of close collaboration with a host of research institutes, industrial companies, universities, and scientific laboratories, both in Denmark and in other countries. The structure of Risø, which is composed of about a dozen interrelated departments with a wide range of experience, has proved to be well suited to tackling complex problems involving expertise in different fields, and the interdisciplinary character of its research is one of the establishment's principal strengths. In this volume are collected a series of papers chosen to give an impression of the character of Risø today. Accordingly, there are reports
on research in reactor technology, non-nuclear applications, especially within medicine, and basic studies with long-range goals. The research of the establishment is greatly influenced by the special facilities which are available. The use of the reactors in materials testing, basic research, isotope production, and activation analysis is illustrated in this volume, while the utilisation of other radiation sources, especially the electron accelerators, in both applied and basic research, is also described. Papers 1 -6 are concerned with various aspects of reactor technology, although the last two of these deal with modern developments in materials science and systems analysis which have general application in non-nuclear technology. Papers 7-9 describe the application to practical problems of expertise in the generation and detection of various kinds of radiation, while 10-12 are concerned with technical developments in the medical field. The protection of the population against excessive exposure to radiation was the primary motivation of the plant studies discussed in papers 13 and 14, while the study of the dispersion of radioactivity through the atmosphere provided the initial impetus for meteorological studies of the type described in paper 15, although again this work has proved to have wide application in other fields. Finally, papers 16 and 17 describe basic research on the chemical and physical properties of matter, carried out using electrons and neutrons respectively. For over a decade, Risø has been occupied with developing the peaceful uses of modern science in collaboration with many other institutions. It has established a place in the scientific and technological life of the country and become an internationally respected research institution. In appreciation of his outstanding contribution to the development of the establishment, this volume is gratefully dedicated to Professor Bjerge on his seventieth birthday by his colleagues at Risø, who have benefitted so greatly from his efforts.