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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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
Gregory A. Moses
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 64 | Number 1 | September 1977 | Pages 49-63
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A27076
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Laser fusion hydrodynamics calculations include both the solution of the plasma hydrodynamics equations and transport equations for various nonthermal particles. The solution of the hydrodynamics equations is usually a combination of an explicit technique for the hyperbolic equation-of-motion and an implicit method for parabolic temperature equations. Transport equations are solved using fully implicit techniques to allow their time step to be as large as the time step used in the solution of the hydrodynamics equations. Multigroup flux-limited diffusion theory is often used to model the time-dependent transport problem. In this method, the diffusion coefficient is “adjusted” to provide a physically plausible result in the free streaming limit. The energy dependence of the distribution function is modeled using multigroup theory. Another method of solving the transport problem, time-dependent particle tracking, approximates the trajectory of the charged particles as straight lines, from creation to thermalization. This simple method accurately describes the slowing down of thermonuclear reaction products, while the flux-limited diffusion technique is more applicable to the transport of electrons and photons.