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Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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.
N. Tsoulfanidis, B. W. Wehring, M. E. Wyman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 43 | Number 1 | January 1971 | Pages 42-53
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A21244
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Previously, absolute measurements were reported for the time-dependent beta energy spectra from fission fragments for electron energies >0.75 MeV. The fragments were produced in the thermal-neutron fission of 235U. To obtain results for electron energies below 0.75 MeV and to provide overlap with the previous results, absolute measurements were made of the time-dependent energy spectra using an experimental system specifically designed for the electron energy range of 0.1 to 1.0 MeV. In this system, a vacuum chamber housed a thin plastic scintillator for the detection of the low-energy electrons, a source foil which was fissioned in a thermal-neutron beam, and a surface-barrier detector for the monitoring of the fission rate. The source foil consisted of 10.4 mg/cm2 of 235U covered and sealed to form a localized source of fission fragments. A deposit of 138 µg/cm2 of 235U on the outside of this foil facing the surface-barrier detector provided the fission fragments for the monitor. Electron energy spectra were measured for the cases of (i) spectrum build-up after initiation of a constant fission rate in a clean foil, (ii) spectrum decay after termination of 8 h of a constant fission rate, and (iii) spectrum decay following a sudden burst of fission produced by a reactor power pulse. The resulting spectra were corrected for the effects of energy resolution and source thickness by unfolding them with the use of a measured system response function. The time-dependent energy measurements for the low-energy betas were combined with the previous measurements for the high-energy betas and the results are presented in tables and graphs. Also given are the total number of betas per fission and the total beta energy per fission for various times during the build-up or the decay of the spectra. Comparisons are made with previous experimental and theoretical work.
