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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The fire that powers the universe: Harnessing inertial fusion energy
It was a laser shot for the ages. By achieving fusion ignition on December 5, 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proved that recreating the “fire” that fuels the sun and the stars inside a laboratory on Earth was indeed scientifically possible.
J. K. Dickens, T. A. Love, J. W. McConnell, R. W. Peelle
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 78 | Number 2 | June 1981 | Pages 126-146
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE81-A20099
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Absolute fission-product decay energy-release rates have been measured for thermal-neutron fission of 239Pu and 241Pu. Spectral data were obtained using scintillation spectrometers for beta and gamma rays separately and were processed to the form of total yield and total energy-release integrals per fission for each set of time-interval parameters. The irradiations were for 1, 5, and 50 (241Pu) or 100 (239Pu) s, and measurements were made covering times following irradiation from 1.7 to 13 950 s. The separate beta- and gamma-ray energy-release data were summed to obtain the total (β + γ) energy-release rates for the cases studied. The data are processed to provide two standard representations of decay energy release, the one following a fission pulse and the other following an infinite fission period. Complete representations of estimated uncertainties are given in the form of variance-covariance matrices for the first time. For the pulse representation of the data, diagonal components correspond to uncertainties in the range of 3 to 6%, with correlation coefficients in the range from 0.1 to 0.5. Comparisons with other experimental data show that the present results are generally smaller than the other data, in some cases by more than the estimated uncertainties. The present results are also smaller than those included in the current American National Standard Decay Heat Power in Light Water Reactors, ANSI/IANS-5.1-1979, for 239Pu by 2 to 4% for the time interval 2 to 14 000 s. For 241Pu decay heat, the present data are larger than previously obtained experimental 235U data but smaller than the adopted 235U standard in ANSI/ANS-5.1-1979. The importance of these comparisons for analyses using the new Standard is presented.