alternatehistory.com

Australia got its first research reactor from Britain in 1955, the 10Mw HiFAR, it was a handy little thing for producing medical and industrial isotopes, silicon transmutation doping for the semiconductor industry, neutron Activation Analysis and Delayed Neutron Analysis for the mining industry and forensic purposes, production of gamma ray sources for sterilisation purposes, cancer therapy, industry and neutron diffraction experiments for the study of matter.

Only 3 years later we got another research reactor from the US, the Argonaut type 100Mw Moata, which was for training nuclear scientists and reactor operators and later expanded to activation analysis and neutron radiography, which is useful to check the structural soundness of jet engine turbine blades. This seems to duplicate much if what HiFAR did, and while HiFAR was the little engine that could from 1958 to 2006 Moata 'only' lasted from 1961 to 1995.

So, given that we get a US reactor in 1958 and it's not going to be an over the top unit, what would be better than Moata for Australia? Could we get a small power reactor? Or could we get a reactor that does more stuff and lasts for 50 years and HiFAR gets shut down after 34 years?
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