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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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How to talk about nuclear
In your career as a professional in the nuclear community, chances are you will, at some point, be asked (or volunteer) to talk to at least one layperson about the technology you know and love. You might even be asked to present to a whole group of nonnuclear folks, perhaps as a pitch to some company tangential to your company’s business. So, without further ado, let me give you some pointers on the best way to approach this important and surprisingly complicated task.
L. G. Mooney
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 44 | Number 2 | May 1971 | Pages 157-172
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A19664
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations were performed to determine energy and angle distributions of the fission-product gamma ray, air-ground secondary gamma ray, and neutron fluence incident on structures resulting from the detonation of a representative intermediate-yield thermonuclear weapon 100 m above the ground. These energy and angle distributions were used as input data to the ANISN discrete ordinates code to calculate the penetration of the radiation through various thicknesses of type O-HW1 concrete. The production and transport of concrete capture gamma rays were calculated in tandem with the neutron transport. The penetration results were used to calculate the various radiation components at the center of a simple concrete blockhouse. The inside lengths and widths of the structure varied from 10 to 50 ft and the inside height was fixed at 10 ft. Wall and roof thicknesses varied from 6 to 60 in. The results of the calculations were expressed as structure protection coefficients (dose at the receiver per unit free-field dose). The neutron dose was found to contribute the highest fraction of the total dose for wall and roof thicknesses up to 12 in. For thicknesses of 18 in. and more, the airground secondary gamma rays and concrete capture gamma rays were found to dominate, becoming increasingly more important with increasing thickness. The relative magnitude of each component did not vary significantly with structure size; however, all components were found to decrease with an increase in structure size for a given wall and roof thickness.