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Gnomemoot 0: Iran - what is the problem? | 194 comments (194 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: The Science Angle (4.00 / 3)
Migeru,

In practice, the diameter of a centrifuge is limited by the structural strength of material and the dimensional control. The larger, the more stress at a given rotational speed and the harder to maintain geometry (and keep the rotor balanced).

The determining factor for the dimension of a centrifuge is not really the enrichment target but simply technical feasibility.
by Francois in Paris on Fri Feb 17th, 2006 at 02:01:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 0)
BTW, have you seen any report on Iranian technical capabilities for metal work. Are they using aluminium or maraging steel?

by Francois in Paris on Fri Feb 17th, 2006 at 02:04:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 0)
I have no idea.

How hard is it to work maraging steel anyway?

Remember I'm not an engineer.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 17th, 2006 at 03:56:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 0)
Well, the rumours are that maraging steel is an important smuggling item into Iran. But, I don't know how reliable the rumours are.
by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Fri Feb 17th, 2006 at 04:05:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 0)
I do believe they are using maraging steel at least at the Natanz facility.

Bitsofnews.com Giving you the latest bits.
by Gjermund E Jansen (gjans1@hotmail.com) on Sat Feb 18th, 2006 at 02:43:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 0)
Well, at least some of them seems to be.....

Bitsofnews.com Giving you the latest bits.
by Gjermund E Jansen (gjans1@hotmail.com) on Sat Feb 18th, 2006 at 04:10:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: The Science Angle (none / 1)
You're right: it all comes down to a balance between how big the centrifuge is and how fast you can make it spin.

The key parameter is the centrifugal acceleration on the centrifuge's rim: this is proportional to the diameter of the centrifuge times the square of the rotation frequency... or the square of the speed at the rim divided by the diameter. In terms of structural stability, smaller is better.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Feb 17th, 2006 at 03:54:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Gnomemoot 0: Iran - what is the problem? | 194 comments (194 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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