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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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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Latest News
Senate committee hears from energy secretary nominee Chris Wright
Wright
Chris Wright, president-elect Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, spent hours today fielding questions from members of the U.S. Senate’s committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
During the hearing, Wright—who’s spent most of his career in fossil fuels—made comments in support of nuclear energy and efforts to expand domestic generation in the near future. Asked what actions he would take as energy secretary to improve the development and deployment of SMRs, Wright said: “It’s a big challenge, and I’m new to government, so I can’t list off the five levers I can pull. But (I’ve been in discussions) about how to make it easier to research, to invest, to build things. The DOE has land at some of its facilities that can be helpful in this regard.”
Takeshi Kase, Hideo Harada
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 126 | Number 1 | May 1997 | Pages 59-70
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE97-A24457
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The performance of a continuous neutron source using an electron accelerator was evaluated by computer simulation codes (EGS4 and MCNP) in terms of neutron yield, neutron flux distribution, neutron spectrum, and heat distribution. Electrons with energies from 10 to 100 MeV were injected into a tungsten converter in order to generate photons by bremsstrahlung. When the photon irradiated a heavy water (D2O) target, neutrons were produced by photonuclear reaction in the (D2O) target. This type of source was optimized for target geometry and electron energy from the point of neutron yield. The neutron spectrum was found to have two characteristic peaks, at the low-energy (thermal) region and the high-energy (million-electron-volt) region. The maximum photoneutrons per 1000 MeV of electron energy was 0.56 at the electron energy of 30 MeV. In the case of irradiation by a 30-MeV, 33-mA continuous electron beam, the maximum thermal neutron flux was on the order of 1011 cm−2·s−1.