ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
William H. Miller, Walter Meyer, Darrol H. Timmons
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 62 | Number 2 | February 1977 | Pages 262-269
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A26961
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fast-neutron angular penetration spectra were experimentally determined for a fast-neutron spectrum incident on 4-, 8-, and 12-in. (102-, 203-, and 305-mm)-thick water slabs. The experimental spectra were compared with MORSE Monte Carlo calculations using readily available multigroup cross sections. The source of fast neutrons for the experimental study was the Missouri University Research Reactor; the incident and penetration neutron spectra were detected using a 2- X 2-in. (51- X 51-mm) NE-213 liquid scintillation spectrometer system. A comparison of the Monte Carlo and experimental results showed excellent agreement for all but the thickest slabs. All results showed similar trends and structure, and only for the 12-in. slab did the experimental and calculated result vary by as much as 40% for shallow angle penetrations. Integrated spectral results are generally within ±15% for all reported angles and thicknesses. A modification to the well-known MORSE code has been utilized to calculate group-to-group transfer probabilities for each of the experimental geometries. These probabilities have been converted to dose and are tabulated to permit calculation of the penetration dose for any incident neutron spectrum for the comprehensive set of angles considered in this work.
