Thermionic nuclear reactor

Claim 1

IN A THERMIONIC NUCLEAR REACTOR IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED TUBULAR THERMIONIC NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENTS ARRANGED AND RETAINED IKN ORDERED ARRAY WITH MEANS FORMING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL REACTOR CORE, A SEALED VESSEL ENCLOSING SAID REACTOR CORE INCLUDING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CENTRAL PORTION DISPOSED CONCENTRICALLY ABOUT SAID CORE AND HAVING UPPER AND LOWER HEAD PORTIONS, SAID UPPER HEAD PORTION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF I BEAMS ARRANGED WITH WEBS PARALLEL AND FLANGES ALIGNED TO DEFINE A VESSEL HEAD HAVING AN UPPER AND LOWER PLANE WITH SAID FLANGES SEALED AND AFFIXED TOGETHER, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART REINFORCING I BEAMS AFFIXED TO SAID UPPER PLANE AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID VESSEL HEAD I BEAMS, A RING AFFIXED AND SEALED TO THE PERIPHERY OF VESSEL HEAD I BEAMS TO FORM A CIRCULAR SEALED UPPER VESSEL HEAD, MANIFOLD MEANS FOR CIRCULATIING LIQUID METAL COOLANT THROUGH SAID VESSEL TO CONTACT SAID FUEL ELEMENTS, A NEUTRON REFLECTOR DISPOSED ABOUT THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID VESSEL INCLUDING PORTIONS MOVABLE INTO THE NEUTRON FIELD OF SAID CORE EFFECTIVE TO CONTROL THE REACTIVITY THEREOF.