Whistler waves are very low frequency electromagnetic waves that are generated by lightning. They are found in the ionosphere between fifty and six hundred miles above the surface of the Earth. Whistler waves are in the frequency range of one thousand cycles per second to thirty thousand cycles per second. Their maximum amplitude is usually between three thousand cycles per second to five thousand cycles per second.
       The frequencies of whistler waves are about the same frequencies as human hearing. If whistler waves are converted to audio, they make a whistling sound, hence the name whistler waves. They are produced when lightning bolts generate an impulse that travels between the norther hemisphere and the southern hemisphere along the Earth’s magnetic field lines. They change in frequency as they travel which is responsible for the whistle effect.
       Inside the nuclear fusion reactors called tokamaks, electric fields cause electrons to move faster and faster through the confined plasma. Usually when objects such as electrons move through a gas or a liquid, they are slowed by drag forces in the material that they are traveling through. However, in the case of a plasma, drag forces decrease with increasing velocity. This results in electron accelerating to near the speed of light. These relativistic electrons can escape the magnetic confinement and damage the container holding the plasma.
       Scientists have developed several methods for dealing with these relativistic electrons. Artificial intelligence systems have been used to monitor and adjust the density of the plasma to keep electrons from going too fast. Another solution is to inject a pellet of frozen neon into the plasma to increase the density of the plasma and slow down the electrons.
      It was recently discovered that whistler waves were being generated by relativistic electrons in the tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility (NFF) in San Diego. Plasmas have many modes of vibration. An electron traveling at just the right speed can cause the plasma to vibrate in one of its modes. This results in the generation of a whistler wave.
       The researchers at the NFF are studying the generation of whistler waves in plasmas in the hopes of understanding exactly how the whistler waves are produced. If they can reverse engineer the process, they might be able to use antennas to artificially generate whistler waves between the walls of the tokamak and the plasma in the tokomak.
       These artificial whistler waves should be able to slow down the relativistic electrons, so they do not damage the walls of the containment vessel. The researchers will need to find out exactly what frequencies and wavelengths would be most efficient in inhibiting runaway electrons and then develop the hardware necessary to produce those frequencies and wavelengths inside the tokomak.
      Work on nuclear fusion has been accelerating and there are at least six companies in the U.S. alone working on small commercial nuclear fusion generators. The donut shaped tokamak discussed in this article is only one of the hardware configurations being explored for nuclear fusion reactors. It is hoped that at least one of these companies will be able to produce a commercial fusion reactor for the energy market within the next ten years.

Ambient office  = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Crimini mushroom from Central Market = 159 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 143 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 136 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
      Experience with actual HEAFs at nuclear power plants has demonstrated that the current preventative and mitigative factors are not sufficient to deal with the threat posed by some HEAFs. In some cases, arcs have lasted much longer than predicted durations and caused more damage than expected. In other cases, HEAF have caused damage to equipment that is outside of the defined ZOI.
       During the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March of 2011, there was a HEAF at the Onagawa nuclear power plant. The motion of the ground caused by the earthquake prevented the automatic shut off of a circuit breaker. The fire burned for seven hours because firemen were not able to enter the room to extinguish the blaze due to the smoke and heat.
       The U.S., Japan and other countries subsequently studied HEAFs. The NRC was involved with a series of tests to pin down critical variables that contribute to the intensity of a HEAF and the damage caused. This resulted in the NRC taking two actions.
       First, the NRC put HEAF events into its generic issues program in August of 2017. Second, the NRC issued an information notice to the operators of all nuclear power plants in the U.S. with details on the tests that had been carried out and the information gained from the tests.
       The test results suggest that a tiered approach be used to deal with HEAFs. After the key factors such as voltage levels, materials, and arc durations were identified, they were used to separate out configurations in a nuclear power plant that might threaten safety margins. As an example, an electrical cabinet configuration that could be problematic is not a concern if it is far enough away from any safety equipment that it could not possibly cause a problem even it was vaporized by a HEAF. There will also be no concern if configurations satisfy safety standards.
       For configurations that might cause a problem, there are different possible remedies. Some situations might call for a more reliable and robust fault detector that quickly shuts off a circuit breaker in order to shorten the duration of the arc. In other situations, it might be wise to switch materials for buses like using copper buses in place of aluminum buses. In still other cases, the remedy might be to just build a wall between an electrical cabinet and safety equipment.
       Although the problems with HEAFs and applicable rules and regulations have been known for some time, the NRC and others have only recently been able to obtain the necessary knowledge needed to move forward with improvements in the handling of HEAFs. While the improvement in understanding of HEAFs and developing possible solutions is important, the next step is to finish testing and studying and move forward with implementing the proposed solutions.

Ambient office  = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Beefsteak tomato from Central Market = 67 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office  = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 96 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 143 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 136 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office  = 126 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Orange bell pepper from Central Market = 92 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Ling Cod – Caught in USA = 112 nanosieverts per hour