[en] This book shows how the fossil energies great consumption, dramatically increased the CO₂ content in the air and produced a greenhouse effect and the climatic change. It proposes the transitory development of the nuclear power, during the implementing of the solar energy techniques. (A.L.B.)

[en] Whatever action we take to limit GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions, it is already too late to prevent the first of the climatic changes, which are already being felt and that are expected to continue to develop further until year 2020. The solutions cannot be purely scientific or technological. It is essential that they are associated with comprehensive changes in our lifestyle and this, in turn, can be expected to bring about considerable economic and social problems. In this context, and based on the current state of our knowledge, all energy sources should be utilized. However, an order of priority should be observed as well as the necessary requirements for their use: Nuclear (nuclear waste management); Coal (separation and long term management of CO₂); Hydraulic and Geothermal (sites are becoming rare and are often far from the areas of high demand); Biomass (should not compete with the production of food for 9 billion inhabitants by mid-century); Other energy sources, mainly intermittent (wind turbines, photovoltaic energy), hence they are limited to a fraction of the total demand (15 to 20 %?); a possibility to store energy would change this outlook

[en] The researches on radioactive waste management carried out in France according to the three ways of the 1991 law (separation and transmutation, deep geologic disposal, long lasting conditioning and storage), aim at offering a set of solutions than can be used partially or as a whole for the long living radioactive waste of high or medium activity. This 9. issue of the annual evaluation report of National Commission of Evaluation (CNE) makes a status of the advances of the researches in this domain. It is shared in 7 chapters dealing with: 1 - the activities of the CNE (scientific hearings and reports, meetings); 2 - the strategic trends and the researches (global strategic trends of nuclear energy development in France, 2003-2006 research strategies and programs, working groups, analysis of radionuclides hierarchization, studies of nuclear system scenarios, development of the Alliances common simulation tool, national inventory of radioactive wastes, containers, sanitary problems); 3 - researches on separation and transmutation (general framework, deep separation, transmutation fuels and targets, transmutation and hybrid systems, future reactors, Gedepeon working group); 4 - researches on deep geologic disposal (researches strategy and program, concept, modeling, status of 2001 studies and works, building of the Bure underground laboratory and program of researches, Forpro working group, Granite 2002 dossier, Andra's international collaborations); 5 - researches on wastes conditioning and long lasting storage of wastes and spent fuels (strategy and programs, glass matrices, new conditioning matrices for separate elements, containers and interfaces between disposal and storage, long-lasting storage); 6 - transverse working groups: Nomade, Practis and Momas; 7 - status of foreign researches and realizations (OECD coordinated researches, SAFIR 2 report (Belgium), international institutions). Five appendixes and a glossary complete the document. (J.S.)

[en] In France and in Europe, the political vision of energy production has not yet been taken to heart as much as its importance merits, despite a certain awareness of the gravity of the phenomena within the population. It would already be very difficult to halve the consumption of fossil fuels in France in 2050, without a swift and profound change in our energy-consumption choices (in particular in transport) and a considerable research effort. To divide it by four seems unrealistic, since France, unlike other countries, has already benefited from the transition from electricity produced from fossil fuels to nuclear electricity which does not emit CO₂. A major evolution in energy, in Europe and throughout the World, is inevitable in the course of the century. To prevent this from being too violent and painful, a process of fundamental research and technological development should be launched forthwith, in all fields of energy production, storage and use, with a large effort supported by major research programmes. Some recommendations are given for the main research fields that should be: capture and long term storage of CO₂, energy savings in transport, energy supply to large cities and nuclear power plant enhancement, hydrogen storage, wind energy and its unavailability problem, use of forest resources, photovoltaic electricity in rural and isolated regions, temporary storage of electricity

[en] For a long time the research effort bas been sustained for the management of short-lived, low and intermediate activity waste. It is true that their share in volume is dominating, in France as well as in countries which do not reprocess spent fuel. But it is remarkable that the research effort is clearly growing as far as the management of waste containing long-lived radionuclides is concerned, particularly spent fuel which is considered as waste in some countries. The framework of research concerning this last waste category is, in France, set by a law promulgated in 1991 to study the final disposal of this waste in deep geological formations. This waste is, in majority, one that comes from the reprocessing of spent fuel. The part of spent fuels that would not be reprocessed in the end is also added to them. The 1991 law thus imposes deeper research following three paths: - The first one concerns the separation of long-lived radionuclides and their transmutation into stable nuclides or into short-lived radionuclides. - The second one concerns disposal in deep geological formations. - The third one covers research for the improvement of waste storage conditioning on one hand, and research on long-term storage on the other hand. The research programs are described annually in a document that explains the research strategy. These programs are mainly implemented by the national Agency for radioactive waste management, by the national Center for scientific research and by the Atomic Energy Board. University laboratories also participate to them within the context of common research groups. (author)

[en] The abundance of the worldwide resources of natural gas and its qualities as a ''clean'' fuel make it a major energy option for the future. However, the increasing distance of resources in relation to the major consuming zones should bring about a considerable development of international gas trade and also a very substantial rise in the cost of future supplies to major markets. Whether these markets accept a new scale of value for natural gas in relation to other fossil fuels in order to ensure the economic viability of the formidable investments required in the coming decades is the most critical question of the gas industry. (author)

[en] Evolution of modelling and model interpretation in the domain of geology, geophysics and geochemistry applied to petroleum industry, is first summarized. Hydrocarbon geological formation modelling is then presented in details with examples of kinetic models such as the discrete distribution and the Gaussian distribution based models, and the kerogene to petroleum process modelling. Petroleum basin modelling is also discussed with methods such as back-stripping, conductive thermal transfers, etc. 14 figs., 26 refs

[en] This article begins by recalling a statement made at the 15th World Energy Council (Madrid, September 1992): 'during the next 30 years, fossil energy sources will continue to be the basis for all energy supplies'. By looking at the conditions of this assertion within a difficult geopolitical context, it shows that one of the privileged routes is to increase research efforts to make scientific and technological advances that will make it possible to fulfill the demand for oil and gas at the start of the 21st century. The R and D effort required to make oil and gas technologies available for the next decade calls for concerted research to be done, for only coordinated research will prevent the dispersal of French efforts. Increasing economically exploitable reserves, mastering production costs and reducing the costs of 'gas chains' from producing fields to consumer regions, while ensuring environmental production, are the challenges that have to be faced. To cope with these expectations for the industry, great research efforts must be made in the corresponding scientific areas so as to gain a better understanding of phenomena and to develop the most suitable solutions. All in all, scientific and technological progress required for the increasing of economically exploitable reserves, for gaining greater accessibility to oil and gas resources, and to better target use of energy in the face of environmental production, require an appreciable increase in research efforts. Such a policy is inconceivable without having recourse to more widespread partnership and without incentives and substantial financing by both French and European public authorities. 11 figs., 3 plates

[en] Lyman series intensity ratios in muonic sodium have been measured in the ten compounds NaNO₂, NaNO₃, Na₂SO₃, Na₂SO₄, Na₂SeO₃, Na₂SeO₄, Na₂S, Na₂Se, NaCl and NaBr as well as in metallic sodium. No significant differences have been found. From this result conclusions are drawn for the capture and cascade mechanism. (Auth.)

[en] The preliminary results on the measurements of the muonic K- and L-series in red (amorphous) and grey-black (metallic) selenium aimed at elucidating the effect of the crystalline structure on atomic capture of negative muons are presented. Within the limits of the statistical uncertainty no solid state effect is observed in the intensities of the series