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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
P. A. Bagryansky et al.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 1 | May 2013 | Pages 40-45
doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A16871
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Physics and engineering aspects of a system for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) at the magnetic mirror device Gas Dynamic Trap (GDT, Budker Institute, Novosibirsk) are presented. This system based on two 450 kW/54.5 GHz gyrotrons is aimed at increasing the electron temperature up to the range 250-350 eV for improved energy confinement of hot ions. The basic physical issue of the GDT magnetic field topology is that conventional ECRH geometries are not accessible. The proposed solution is based on a peculiar effect of radiation trapping in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. Under specific conditions, oblique launch of gyrotron radiation results in generation of right-hand-polarized (R) electromagnetic waves propagating with high N|| in the vicinity of the cyclotron resonance layer, which leads to effective single-pass absorption of the injected microwave power. In the present paper, we investigate numerically an optimized ECRH scenario based on the proposed mechanism of wave propagation and discuss the design of the ECRH system, which is currently under construction at the Budker Institute.