TAS and Polar Crane

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/6.3 · 0.6s · ISO 64
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The Triple-Axis Spectrometer and the colossal Polar Crane stand within the ANSTO HIFAR reactor hall. These instruments once facilitated critical nuclear research at Australia's first nuclear reactor.

Edition

Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD

Colour

Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: TAS and Polar Crane
Series: ANSTO HIFAR
Catalogue: AHF-028
Process: Giclée
Captured: 7 October 2022
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/6.3
Shutter: 0.6s s
ISO: 64
Focal length: 14 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The Triple-Axis Spectrometer stands at the centre of the photograph, mounted on a track that allowed angular movement around a neutron beam port at the reactor's biological shield. Above and beyond it, the polar crane spans the full diameter of the reactor hall on a circular rail at high level. The crane was used to lift the heaviest plant in the building: fuel flasks, top-plate sections, instrument assemblies.

HIFAR's neutron-beam instruments were the working tools of Australian materials-science research for the second half of the reactor's life. The reactor was originally built to support a planned civil nuclear power program that never arrived, and from the 1980s onwards it was reinvented as a research and isotope-production facility. The reinvention kept HIFAR running for 49 years, ending with permanent shutdown on 30 January 2007. Phase A decommissioning began in early 2025.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

The Triple Axis Spectrometer (TAS) sits on a literal gun turret. Unused military equipment was used to build some instruments within the reactor containment building. This instrument is used for studying superconductors, electronics and computing devices. Carbon dating items is another use of the instrument. Things such as Ned Kelly's armour are amongst some of the significant items analyzed here.

Brett Patman

The series

ANSTO HIFAR

2022 · 49 photographs

At 11:15 pm on Sunday 26 January 1958, Australia Day, the High Flux Australian Reactor went critical for the first time with 11 of 25 fuel elements loaded. The men in the control room had come from Oak Ridge, Chalk River and Harwell. HIFAR was Australia's first nuclear reactor.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.