All I need is a box of donuts...

Picture credit:  Paul Vickers

Hi, folks.  The picture to the right shows me in sector 7G, er, at Oak Ridge National Lab's original graphite reactor.  The facility was taken offline in (I think) 1962, and has not been disturbed since.  All controls, dials, seats, labels, everything is just as it was on the last day the reactor was active.  So I entered the control room, sat in the swivel chair, and attempted to cause a Homer Simpson-style meltdown.  I failed.

I haven't posted in weeks 'cause I've been arranging the US Invitational Young Physicists Tournament.  The Harker School of San Jose, California took first place; Woodberry Forest (my school) came in first in the preliminary rounds, but was upset in the playoffs by Rye Country Day School of New York. 

Now I'm desperately trying to catch up with the pile of work I ignored in order to go to the tournament in Oak Ridge.  I'll get back to posting here in a while.  Until then, try to figure out what each of those dials does.

GCJ