First laid down on June 15, 1958, K-27 was the first Red sub to dabble in lead-bismuth cooled reactors. These systems were smaller but more powerful than the pressurized-water reactors that ran ...

The boats were cutting edge when they were produced, and in addition to the then-revolutionary use of titanium for the hull, each of the subs utilized a powerful lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor ...

Ram Mohan looks at how bismuth — a remarkably harmless element among the toxic heavy metals in the periodic table — has sparked interest in areas varying from medicinal to industrial chemistry.