Heterogeneous nuclear reactor

Claim 1

A NUCLEAR HETEROGENEOUS REACTOR, COMPRISING A REACTOR CORE OF GRAPHITE HAVING A MUTLIPLICITY OF VERTICAL FUEL CHANNELS AND HAVING BALL-SHAPED FUEL ELEMENTS OF PREDETERMINED AND APPROXIMATELY UNIFORM DIAMETER IN SAID CHANNELS WHEN IN OPERATIVE CONDITION, SAID CHANNELS HAVING A SQUARE CROSS SECTION AND HAVING INWARDLY PROJECTING PROTUBERANCES FORMING PART OF SAID REACTOR CORE AND LOCATED ALONG THE CHANNEL WALLS FOR GUIDING SAID ELEMENTS WHEREBY INTERSPACES OF PREDETERMINED DIMENSIONS ARE FORMED BETWEEN SAID ELEMENTS AND SAID CHANNEL WALLS, THE TRANSVERSE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID GUIDNG PROTUBERANCES BEING ONLY WIDE ENOUGH FOR A SINGLE ONE OF SAID FUEL ELEMENTS TO BE DISPOSED WITHIN SAID TRANSVERSE DISTANCE AT A TIME, TO THEREBY AXIALLY ALIGN A PLURALITY OF SAID BALLSHAPED FUEL ELEMENTS WITHIN SAID CHANNELS, A TOP PLATE AND BOTTOM PLATE ADJOINING SAID CORE AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM THEREOF RESPECTIVELY, SUPPLY MEANS FOR DISCHARGING SAID FUEL ELEMENTS IN SEQUENCE INDIVIDUALLY ONTO THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID TOP PLATE, EACH OF SAID TWO PLATES HAVING CIRCULAR OPENINGS COAXIALLY ALIGNED WITH SAID RESPECTIVE CHANNELS AND SMALLER THAN SAID SQUARE CROSS SECTION SO AS TO JUST PERMIT PASSAGE OF SAID FUEL ELEMENTS, AND EACH OF SAID TWO PLATES HAVING PASSAGES ADJACENT TO SAID RESPECTIVE OPENINGS AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID INTERSPACES, AND COOLANT CIRCULATION MEANS FORMING A COOLANT PATH THROUGH SAID PASSAGES AND SAID INTERSPACES.