Liquid metal cooled reactor Clementine was the first liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor and used mercury coolant, thought to be the obvious choice since it is liquid at room temperature. However, because of disadvantages including high toxicity, high vapor pressure even at room temperature, low boiling point, producing noxious fumes when heated, relatively low thermal conductivity, and a high neutron cross-section, it has fallen out of favor. Sodium and NaK (a eutectic sodium-potassium alloy) do not corrode steel to any significant degree and are compatible with many nuclear fuels, allowing for a wide choice of structural materials. They do, however, ignite spontaneously on contact
Forging temperature at which a metal is forged can affect the homogeneity in microstructure and mechanical properties of forged products, which can highly affect the performance of products used in manufacturing. Forging temperature Forging temperature is the temperature at which a metal becomes substantially more soft, but is lower than the melting temperature. Bringing a metal to its forging temperature allows the metal's shape to be changed by applying a relatively small force, without creating cracks. The forging temperature of an alloy will lie between the temperatures of its component metals. For most metals, forging temperature will be approximately 70% of the