ABSTRACT
Why should one be interested in what radiation, as in nuclear radiation, does to lubricants? We in the United States get some 18% of our electric power from nuclear power plants; some other countries are much more dependent on this power source. Some lubricants used in such plants are exposed to radiation. So, when selecting these lubricants, radiolysis (interaction with radiation) must be considered along with traditional enemies of lubricants such as temperature and oxidation. This is particularly so because lubricants vary 1000-fold in their resistance to radiation.
