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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.
E. I. Moses, J. D. Lindl, M. L. Spaeth, R. W. Patterson, R. H. Sawicki, L. J. Atherton, P. A. Baisden, L. J. Lagin, D. W. Larson, B. J. MacGowan, G. H. Miller, D. C. Rardin, V. S. Roberts, B. M. Van Wonterghem, P. J. Wegner
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 69 | Number 1 | January-February 2016 | Pages 1-24
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-128
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been operational since March 2009 and has been transitioning to a user facility supporting ignition science, high energy density stockpile science, national security applications, and fundamental science. The facility has achieved its design goal of 1.8 MJ and 500 TW of 3ω light on target, and has performed target experiments with 1.9 MJ at peak powers of 410 TW. The National Ignition Campaign (NIC), established by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration in 2005, was responsible for transitioning NIF from a construction project to a national user facility. Besides the operation and optimization of the use of the NIF laser, the NIC program was responsible for developing capabilities including target fabrication facilities; cryogenic layering capabilities; over 60 optical, X-ray, and nuclear diagnostic systems; experimental platforms; and a wide range of other NIF facility infrastructure. This paper provides a summary of some of the key experimental results for NIF to date, an overview of the NIF facility capabilities, and the challenges that were met in achieving these capabilities. They are covered in more detail in the papers that follow.