Two aluminum spherical mirrors with radii of 203.2 mm and radii of curvature also of 203.2 mm have been used to construct a tunable Fabry-Perót type resonator operational at frequencies as low as 500 MHz. The resonator has been incorporated into a pulsed nozzle, Fourier transform, Balle-Flygare spectrometer. The spectrometer is of use in recording low J transitions of large asymmetric molecules where the spectra are often greatly simplified compared to higher frequency regions. The resonators use is illustrated by recording the rotational spectra of bromobenzene and iodobenzene. In related experiments, using similar equipment, the pure rotational spectra of four isotopomers of SrS and all three naturally occurring isotopomers of the actinide-containing compound thorium monoxide have been recorded between 6 and 26 GHz. The data have been thoroughly analyzed to produce information pertaining to bond lengths and electronic structures.

The efforts of my research have led to the successful construction of several instruments that have helped expand the field of microwave spectroscopy. The classic Balle-Flygare spectrometer has been modified to include two different sets of antenna to operate in the frequency ranges 6-18 GHz and 18-26 GHz, allowing it to function for a large range without having to break vacuum. This modified FTMW instrument houses two low noise amplifiers in the vacuum chamber to allow for the LNAs to be as close to the antenna as physically possible, improving sensitivity. A new innovative Balle-Flygare type spectrometer, the efficient low frequency FTMW, was conceived and built to operate at frequencies as low as 500 MHz through the use of highly curved mirrors. This is new for FTMW techniques that normally operate at 4 GHz or higher with only a few exceptions around 2 GHz. The chirped pulse FTMW spectrometer uses horn antennas to observe spectra that span 2 GHz versus the standard 1 MHz of a cavity technique. This instrument decreases the amount of time to obtain a large spectral region of relative correct intensity molecular transitions. A Nd:YAG laser ablation apparatus was attached to the classic Balle-Flygare and chirped pulse FTMW spectrometers. This allowed the study of heavy metal containing compounds. The instruments I constructed and the techniques I used have allowed the discovery of further insights into molecular chemistry. I have seen the effects of fluorinating an alkyl halide by determining the geometry of the carbon backbone of trans-1-iodoperfluoropropane and observing a ΔJ = 3 forbidden transition caused by a strong quadrupole coupling constant on this heavy molecule. The quadrupole coupling tensors of butyronitrile, a molecule observed in space, have been improved. The nuclear quadrupole coupling tensor of difluoroiodomethane was added to a list of variably fluorinated methyl halides upholding a trend for the magnitude of χzz. The study of SrS led to the determination of the Born-Oppenheimer breakdown terms and improving the precision of the SrS internuclear distance. I have also conducted the first pure rotational spectroscopic investigation on an actinide containing molecule, ThO.

<p> Part A Abstract </p> <p> Temperature coefficients of reactivity for an 37-element reference design of a thorium oxide fuelled, heavy water moderated and cooled reactor, are calculated. The physical processes which determine magnitude and sign of the coefficients are identified and discussed. Results are given for fresh fuel containing equilibrium concentrations of the fission product Xe-135 and with boron control in the moderator. Results are. also -given for fresh fuel with the equilibrium concentration of Xe-135 but without boron contorl for fuel with an exposue of 1.513 n/k barn and for fuel with an exposure of 3.13 n/k barn; each containing appropriate concentrations of 50 separate nuclides and one-pseudo fission product. The fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity is negative for all the cases studied, while the coolant temperature coefficient of reactivity is positive for all the cases studied. The void effect is an increase in reactivity for all cases studied. </p> ////////////////////// <p> Part B Abstract </p> <p> This work has been done with the purpose of studying the validity of Bragg Kleeman rule which states that for combinations of elements, the atomic stopping cross-sections are additive. The validity of Bragg Kleeman rule for low energy He ions has not been conclusively tested for solids. In this work, the comparison with the experimental stopping power of SiC with the additive stopping powers of Si and C has been made experimentally. </p> <p> A thick target technique in the experimental evaluation of the stopping powers is used. This method has some simplicity over the thin target techniques. </p> <p> A calibration of the McMaster University Van-de Graff accelerator was done. Experiments were conducted later using the calibration curves produced. </p> <p> The report contains a brief account on different sources of errors due to the Van-de-Graff accelerator calibration and due to stopping power experiments. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)