Abstract: A self-propelled carriage for inspecting the primary vessel of a fast reactor is capable of displacement within the interspace between the primary vessel and the containment vessel in order to inspect and test any predetermined zone of the primary vessel, the carriage being associated with a drive mechanism and applied against the oppositely-facing wall of the containment vessel. The carriage is suspended from a composite cable actuated by a handling apparatus for introducing the carriage into the interspace and withdrawing it therefrom. The composite cable supplies electric power as well as the different fluids required for positioning and operation of the inspection devices which are mounted on the carriage.

Abstract: An electroemissive component having variable emissivity is made up of a conductive substrate on which at least one continuous thin film of a solid organometallic compound has been formed by electrochemical deposition and of a conductive deposit constituted by at least one thin film and deposited on said organometallic film, the substrate and the conductive deposit being electrically connected respectively to the two poles of a variable-voltage source which controls the emissivity.The component is particularly well suited to the fabrication of electronic or optoelectronic devices such as electron tubes, luminescent cells, display panels, thin television screens, and brightness amplifiers.

Abstract: In a device which provides a coupling between an electric motor and an element which is driven in rotation at very high speed and suspended from a connecting-rod which works in traction, the diameter and length of the connecting-rod are determined in respect of a given weight of the driven element and a given torque so that the ratio of the length to the diameter of the connecting-rod is higher than 50 and preferably between 90 and 200. The result thereby achieved is a minimum value of the natural frequency of the connecting-rod and maximum transverse stability.

Abstract: A device for localizing neutrons is made up of modular elements placed within an enclosure which is transparent to neutrons and filled with a gas, each modular element being constituted by a series of parallel wire anodes, means for producing an electric field around each anode wire so as to give rise to charge multiplication when an electron penetrates into the field, a cathode placed in the proximity of the array of wire anodes, means for attaching the anode wires to the cathode walls and means for providing electrical insulation between the cathode and each anode wire.

Abstract: A method of photochemical separation of the mercury isotopes by the so-called indirect route in which a gas stream of oxygen and butadiene containing a mixture of mercury isotopes is passed through one or a number of vessels placed in series. The gas stream is irradiated by a lamp containing mercury which is depleted in one or a number of the isotopes and said isotopes are recovered in a trap placed downstream of the vessel or vessels.

Abstract: A line body portion is subjected to a beam z or parallel beams of electromagnetic radiation having transverse dimensions which are smaller than those of the body portion. The beam is displaced in space in order to sweep the entire volume of the body portion and the attenuation resulting from the passage of the beam through the body is measured in respect of each position of the beam. The mass of the unitary volume of the body portion traversed by the beam is deduced from the measurement, the total mass thereof and the position of its center of gravity being then calculated from a knowledge of the mass of each unitary volume.

Abstract: A differential voltage amplifier having high gain and a wide bandwidth essentially comprises an unstable circuit having one position of unstable equilibrium and two distinct positions of equilibrium which can be maintained for a given period of time, an input stage for applying signals to the input of said unstable circuit for a given period of time, means for returning the unstable circuit to its position of unstable equilibrium, means for calibrating the output of the unstable circuit at the voltage +V.sub.m or at the voltage -V.sub.m according to the position of unstable equilibrium, means for integrating the calibrated signal which appears at the output of the bistable circuit for a given period of time and a clock for the synchronization of the entire circuit.

Abstract: A multipassage diffuser having 2p passages comprises a leak-tight cylindrical enclosure closed by a top cover and a bottom end-wall, parallel porous tubes which are rigidly assembled in sectors between tube plates and through which the gas mixture flows, the tube sectors being disposed at uniform intervals on the periphery of the enclosure. The top tube plates are rigidly fixed to an annular header having the shape of a half-torus and adapted to communicate with the tubes of the corresponding sector.Each passage is constituted by a plurality of juxtaposed sectors in which the mixture circulates in the same direction, the header being divided into p portions limited by radial partition-walls and each constituting two adjacent passages.

Abstract: The method of selective stripping from plutonium-loaded organic solvents which may also contain uranium consists in passing the organic solvent in countercurrent contact with an aqueous solution of a salt of hydroxylamine and formic acid, the concentration of formic acid in the reaction medium being within the range of 1M to 5M.The method finds an application in the stripping of plutonium from trilaurylamine diluted in an aromatic hydrocarbon such as tert-butyl benzene or in the separation of uranium and plutonium contained in tributylphosphate diluted in an aliphatic hydrocarbon such as dodecane.

Abstract: A method of connecting electronic microcomponents comprising the steps of realizing a support with conducting wire connecting pads secured on said support, the position of which is adapted to the arrangement of the connections for the microcomponents, making a connecting circuit by sticking an insulated wire onto said support and connecting said conducting wire connecting pads, positioning the microcomponent panels so that each microcomponent connection is in electrical contact with one of said wire connecting pads, welding the connections to their respective wire connecting pads.A substrate for connecting microcomponents comprising a support on which conducting wire connecting pads are deposited and joined by a connecting circuit made of insulated wire.A hybrid circuit comprising a number of electronic microcomponents connected by said substrate.

Abstract: The method of selective stripping from plutonium-loaded organic solvents which may also contain uranium consists in bringing the initial organic solvent into countercurrent contact with a solution containing a reducing agent consisting of an aromatic organic compound selected from the group comprising the substituted hydrazines, the polyamines, the aminophenols, and an agent for the removal of the nitrites which are formed.One field in which the method finds an application is the extraction of uranium and plutonium from nitric acid solutions derived from the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuels.

Abstract: A cryostatic device employed mainly in infrared spectrometry comprises a vertical open-topped vessel having heat-insulating reflecting walls and containing a cryogenic liquid, an outer enclosure surrounding the vessel and provided with at least one opening for establishing a communication between the external atmosphere and a region of the enclosure opposite to the lower portion of the vessel, means for introducing cryogenic liquid into the vessel and means whereby the sample to be studied is maintained in position and cooled by said cryogenic liquid.

Abstract: In a focusing ultrasonic system for detecting flaws in a part and obtaining a single focal point in the ambient medium, the ratio of the distances between the points of impact of the different rays of the ultrasonic beam on the separation surface of the part to the two focal points of the beam along two orthogonal planes as considered in the ambient medium is equal to: ##EQU1## WHERE I.sub.1 IS THE ANGLE OF INCIDENCE OF A RAY AND I.sub.2 IS ITS ANGLE OF REFRACTION.

Abstract: An array of needle point anodes has its points uniformly spaced from a sheet cathode. Ionization occurring in an ionizable medium causes electron multiplication in the high electric field of the nearest anode point. A semiconductor solid may be the ionizable medium, instead of the usual gaseous or liquified rare gas. The pulse count rate is individually measured for each anode, or for each cathode segment when the anodes are connected together and a segmented cathode is used, to locate the trajectory and measure the flux of ionizing particles.

Abstract: A proportional detector for the localization of particles comprises a leak-tight chamber filled with fluid and fitted with an electrode of a fisrt type consisting of one or more conducting wires and with an electrode of a second type consisting of one or more conducting plates having the shape of a portion of cylindrical surface and a contour which provides a one-to-one correspondence between the position of a point of the wires and the solid angle which subtends the plate at that point, means being provided for collecting the electrical signal which appears on the plates.

Abstract: In evaporators for distillation or concentration of solutions, each tube nest consists of non-rigid plastic tubes through which vapor is circulated. Each tube is secured to the fixed structure of the evaporator at the vapor admission end of the tube by means of a standard fastening member and at the vapor discharge end by means of a sliding tubular expansion joint of small cross-sectional area compared with that of the tube.

Abstract: In a first step, a mixture of nodular sediments and sea water is collected by dredging along the sea bed and lifted into the separation compartment of an underwater control and storage station connected by tubing to a carrier ship. A volume of air corresponding to the pressure of the compartment at the immersion depth is sucked from the mixture and re-injected into the dredging tube by means of a booster compressor. In a second step, the nodules separated from the air are sucked to the surface and then collected.

Abstract: The energy converter utilizes the products of radiolysis of an aqueous solution of an oxidation-reduction pair and comprises a leak-tight jacket initially filled with a pure gas which is identical with the gas evolved as a result of radiolysis. A porous electrode impregnated with the aqueous solution of the oxidation-reduction pair and specific to the reaction of this latter is placed within the jacket. The converter also comprises a gas electrode which is specific to the gas evolved as a result of radiolysis, a porous diaphragm for effecting the ionic junction between the two electrodes by gas/liquid surface conductivity and means for connecting the electrodes to an external circuit.

Abstract: The charge preamplifier comprises an input stage driven by the signal to be amplified, the input stage being connected to an amplification stage associated with an output stage, and a circuit for applying optoelectronic feedback from the output to the input of the preamplifier. The input stage comprises a cooled field-effect transistor, the signal to be amplified being applied to the input gate of the transistor. The load resistance of the transistor is provided by a second field-effect transistor mounted in series with an inductance coil.

Abstract: The ends of travel of pneumatic jacks are controlled so as to obtain signals which are directly utilizable in fluidics by means of a device comprising a main jack-piston with a hollow operating stem fitted with a plunger and a positionally-adjustable regulating stem, a main cylinder and auxiliary cylinder having control ports for driving fluid and communicating with stationary fluidic control ports, and adjustable fluidic control means actuated in dependence on the position of the regulating stem with respect to a cylindrical slide-valve.