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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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.
T. J. Hoffman, J. C. Robinson, P. N. Stevens
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 48 | Number 2 | June 1972 | Pages 179-188
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A22469
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An important radiation transport problem is that of determining the effect of a geometrically complex object (vehicle) located in an otherwise geometrically simple system. The direct solution to this problem often requires a Monte Carlo calculation. If the vehicle is far removed from the radiation source, the calculation can be very costly or even impossible.To deal with this problem, a new method, the adjoint difference method, has been developed. This method decomposes the original problem into two independent calculations: 1. a geometrically simple (one- or two-dimensional) deep-penetration calculation that is independent of the vehicle 2. a localized three-dimensional calculation that is independent of the radiation source. The first calculation is suitable to deterministic methods of solution, such as discrete ordinates. The second, by nature of geometry, usually requires a Monte Carlo calculation; however, this is not a deep-penetration calculation. Therefore the dual complexity of geometry and statistics inherent in a deep-penetration Monte Carlo calculation is avoided. Since the above calculations are independent, only the coupling of these calculations depends on the relative position and orientation of the source and vehicle. Hence the effects of different sources and arbitrary vehicle orientations can be obtained from a single Monte Carlo calculation. The method was examined through application to several problems. All resuits were compared to those obtained from presently acceptable methods of problem solution. In these applications, the adjoint difference method was shown to be an efficient, versatile method of calculation.
