This thesis is a history of the beginnings of nuclear research and education in India, between 1938 and 1959, through the trajectories of particle accelerator building activities at three institutions: the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the Palit Laboratory of Physics, University Science College, Calcutta, later (Saha) Institute of Nuclear Physics, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay. The two main arguments in this thesis are: First, the beginnings of nuclear research in India were rooted in the "modernist imperative" of the research field. However, post-war organisation of nuclear research came to be inextricably imbricated in processes of state-formation in independent India in a manner such that failure to actively engage with the bureaucratic state implied death of a laboratory project or constraints upon legitimately possible research. Second, state-formation, like the pursuit of nuclear research in India for the period of my study, became about India's participation and claim upon the universal. State-formation was equally a modernist imperative. Powerful sections of the nationalist bourgeoisie in India understood "Science" and the "State" as universals in World History, and India, they were convinced, had to confirm its place in history as an equal among equals. These two arguments combined explain how nuclear research came to be established, transformed, and extended through the gradual assembly of material infrastructure to realistically enable the new country take a capable decision on the nuclear question.

Theories of nuclear weapons proliferation cannot fully account for the nuances of certain cases because proliferation is a complex process involving numerous variables, the importance of which can potentially shift across time. This seems especially true when applied to the case of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) where motivations have shifted in relevance numerous times in its proliferation history. In order to investigate this, this thesis reviews extant theories of nuclear proliferation and their ability to explain the case of the DPRK by critically examining its historical nuclear progress and nuclear weapons ambitions across time. The result is that indeed, proliferation theories are ill-equipped to completely account for the DPRK’s nuclear choices. The DPRK has ostensibly been motivated by numerous variables at different times, each having varying degrees of influence, inexplicable for mono-causal and often western and ethno-centric accounts of its proliferation motivations.

This dissertation consists of three interrelated essays examining the role of crisis events in Swedish nuclear energy policymaking. The study takes stock of the idea of ‘crisis exceptionalism’ raised in the literature, which postulates that crisis events provide openings for major policy change. In an effort to explain crisis-induced outcomes in Swedish nuclear energy policy, each essay explores and develops theoretical assumptions derived from the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The introduction discusses the ACF and other theoretical perspectives accentuating the role of crisis in policymaking and identifies three explanations for crisis-induced policy outcomes: minority coalition mobilization, learning, and strategic action. Essay I analyzes the nature and development of the Swedish nuclear energy subsystem. The results contradict the ACF assumption that corporatist systems nurture narrow subsystems and small advocacy coalitions, but corroborate the assumption that advocacy coalitions remain stable over time. While this analysis identifies temporary openings in policymaking venues and in the advocacy coalition structure, it is argued that these developments did not affect crisis policymaking. Essay II seeks to explain the decision to initiate a referendum on nuclear power following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. Internal government documents and other historical records indicate that strategic considerations superseded learning as the primary explanation in this case. Essay III conducts an in-depth examination of Swedish policymaking in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident in an effort to explain the government’s decision not to accelerate the nuclear power phaseout. Recently disclosed government documents show that minority coalition mobilization was insufficient to explain this decision. In this case, rational learning and strategic action provided a better explanation. The main theoretical contribution derived from the three essays is to posit the intensity and breadth of political conflict, strategic action, and analogical reasoning as key factors affecting the propensity for crisis-induced policy change.

Theories of nuclear weapons proliferation cannot fully account for the nuances of certain cases because proliferation is a complex process involving numerous variables, the importance of which can potentially shift across time. This seems especially true when applied to the case of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) where motivations have shifted in relevance numerous times in its proliferation history. In order to investigate this, this thesis reviews extant theories of nuclear proliferation and their ability to explain the case of the DPRK by critically examining its historical nuclear progress and nuclear weapons ambitions across time. The result is that indeed, proliferation theories are ill-equipped to completely account for the DPRK’s nuclear choices. The DPRK has ostensibly been motivated by numerous variables at different times, each having varying degrees of influence, inexplicable for mono-causal and often western and ethno-centric accounts of its proliferation motivations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1960. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: leaf 71.

Thesis (A.B., Honors)--Harvard University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 439-463).

Thesis (M.S. in Nuclear Science and Engineering)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. / "May 2006." Description based on title screen as viewed on June 1, 2010. DTIC Descriptor(s): Boreholes, Radioactive Wastes, Disposal, Canisters, Thermal Properties, USSR, Diameters, Thickness, Stability, Permeability, Environments, Corrosion, Drilling, Flooding, Storage, Reactor Fuels, Nuclear Energy, Barriers, Emplacement, Internal, Fuels, Igneous Rock, Geothermy, Drills, Hazards, Performance (Engineering), Water, Theses, Granite, Steel, Containment (General). Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-125). Also available in print.

Por considerar que o uso das tecnologias de informação e comunicação às práticas pedagógicas, aliadas à abordagem dos assuntos nucleares é tema relevante, desafiador e ainda pouco explorado, o presente projeto visou criar um espaço de reflexões acerca das relações de aprendizagem e o papel do professor em sala de aula no contexto escolar de nível médio. Para o desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa, utilizou-se metodologia qualitativa. Como instrumentos de coleta de dados utilizaram-se gravações de áudio e vídeo, anotações em diários de aula, produções textuais dos sujeitos investigados e arquivos de registro da navegação realizada no ambiente do software educativo. A utilização de recursos digitais e, principalmente, do software educativo Cidade do Átomo, possibilitou a realização do exercício de representações de papéis, cujo objetivo é abordar assuntos científicos e tecnológicos polêmicos, tal como os relacionados à produção de energia elétrica a partir da energia nuclear. Nessa atividade, os estudantes interpretam diversos papéis de um mesmo contexto, defendendo e debatendo os pontos de vista convergentes de seus personagens. Foi possível evidenciar na participação dos estudantes por meio de questionamentos e relações estabelecidas entre seus pares e com os recursos tecnológicos a formação de um ambiente de interação proveitoso. Esta constatação evidencia a potencialidade do espaço educativo formado, que resultou em reforço do processo ensino-aprendizagem. / By considering that the use of information technology and pedagogical practices communication allied with an approach of nuclear subject it’s a relevant, challenging and yet not well developed theme, the present project aimed to create speculative space about the learning relationship and the role of the educator in a middle school context. To the development of this research were used a qualitative methodology. As data collecting instrument were used audio and video recordings, diary class annotations, textual productions of the analyzed subjects and navigation record files of the educational software ambient. Use of digital resources, mainly the educative software “Cidade do Átomo”, enabled the roleplaying game, whose objective is the approach of scientific and technologic polemic subjects, such as the nuclear energy production. In this exercise, the students played various roles on the same context, defending and debating their characters point of view. By the use of questions and discussion of the peer relationship with the technological resource, was possible to bespeak a beneficial interactive environment. This statement endorses the potentiality of the educative space, which resulted in a reinforcement of the teaching-learning process.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Rubens Maiorino / Tese ( doutorado)- Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Energia, 2017. / O presente trabalho apresenta a análise e estudo da viabilidade de converter um reator de água pressurizada, para que opere com combustível a base de mistura de óxidos de tório e urânio (Th, U)O2, em substituição ao tradicional dióxido de urânio, com a finalidade de redução de actinídeos de longa vida, em especial plutônio, e de gerar um estoque de 233U que poderia vir a no futuro ser utilizado em ciclos de combustível avançados, em um processo mais sustentável e para aproveitar a grande reserva de tório disponível no planeta e em especial no Brasil. O reator escolhido como referência foi o AP1000, que é considerado como um dos reatores mais seguros e modernos da atual Geração III, e por sua similaridade com os reatores já consolidados e utilizados no Brasil para geração de energia elétrica. Os resultados obtidos mostram a viabilidade e potencialidade do conceito, sem a necessidade de mudanças no núcleo do AP1000, e também com vantagens relativamente a este. Os cálculos nêutronicos foram feitos pelo programa SERPENT. Os resultados forneceram uma densidade de potência linear máxima menores que o AP1000, favorecendo a segurança. Além disso a fração de nêutrons atrasados, os coeficientes de reatividade mostraram-se adequados para garantir a segurança do conceito. Os resultados mostraram que é possível uma produção de cerca de 260 Kg de 233U por ciclo, com uma produção mínima de plutônio físsil que favorece a utilização do conceito em ciclos de U-Th, no entanto os estudos apontam que sua vantagem é limitada a ciclos de combustível fechados. / This work presents the neutronics and thermal hydraulics feasibility to convert the UO2 core of the Westinghouse AP1000 in a (U-Th)O2 core, rather than the traditional uranium dioxide, for the purpose of reducing long-lived actinides, especially plutonium, and generates a stock pile of 233U, which could in the future be used in advanced fuel cycles, in a more sustainable process and taking advantage of the large stock of thorium available on the planet and especially in Brazil. The reactor chosen as reference was the AP1000, which is considered to be one of the most reliable and modern reactor of the current Generation III, and its similarity to the reactors already consolidated and used in Brazil for electric power generation. The results show the feasibility and potentiality of the concept, without needs any change in the core of the AP1000, and even with advantages over this. The neutron calculations were made by the SERPENT code. The results provided a maximum linear power density lower than the AP1000, favoring safety. In addition the delayed neutron fraction, the reactivity coefficients proved to be adequate to ensure the safety of the concept. The results show that a production of about 260 Kg of 233U per cycle is possible, with a minimum production of fissile plutonium that favors the use of the concept in U-Th cycles, however studies show that its advantage is limited to closed cycles.