ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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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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Latest News
Three nations, three ways to recycle plastic waste with nuclear technology
Plastic waste pollutes oceans, streams, and bloodstreams. Nations in Asia and the Pacific are working with the International Atomic Energy Agency through the Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) initiative to tackle the problem. Launched in 2020, NUTEC Plastics is focused on using nuclear technology to both track the flow of microplastics and improve upstream plastic recycling before discarded plastic can enter the ecosystem. Irradiation could target hard-to-recycle plastics and the development of bio-based plastics, offering sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic products and building a “circular economy” for plastics, according to the IAEA.
J. T. Mihalczo
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 60 | Number 3 | July 1976 | Pages 262-275
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE76-4
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effective delayed neutron fraction from fission was determined for an unreflected uranium (93.2 wt% 235U) metal sphere from the ratio of time-correlated counts in a randomly pulsed neutron measurement to those in a Rossi-α measurement. In the randomly pulsed neutron measurements, a 252Cf source was placed in the sphere which contained a fission counter that, because of its location, did not count neutrons directly from the source. Neutrons from spontaneous fission of 252Cf initiated fission chains in the sphere, and the fission counter detected events from the interaction of neutrons from these fission chains with the uranium of the fission counter. A Type I time analyzer was triggered each time a 252Cf nucleus fissioned and recorded the time distribution of neutrons from the fission chains initiated by neutrons from californium at t = 0. The delayed neutron fraction by this method (60.2 ± 0.8 × 10−4) is ∼11% lower than that from other measurements or calculations that are all in agreement. This low value may be due to an improper theoretical formulation for the correction of point kinetics for spatial effects. The value of this correction factor estimated by another theoretical formulation is 30% larger. An 11% larger correction for spatial effects would produce agreement between this measurement and previously measured results.