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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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.
C. E. Ragan III, G. F. Auchampaugh, A. Hemmendinger, M. G. Silbert
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 61 | Number 1 | September 1976 | Pages 33-39
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE76-A28458
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A benchmark measurement of the neutron leakage spectrum from a pulsed 38-kg uranium (93.5% 235U) sphere has been made using time-of-flight techniques. The sphere had a multiplication of ∼11 for 14-MeV neutrons, and a neutron hold-up time of ∼40 nsec. The centrally located source of 14.1 ± 0.8-MeV neutrons, produced by bombarding a tritium gas target with pulses of low-energy deuterons, was isotropic to ±7.7%. Neutrons in the 0.180- to 16.0-MeV energy range were detected at the end of a 39-m flight path by an Ne-213 liquid scintillator employing pulse-shape discrimination. The detector efficiency was measured over this same energy range using monoenergetic neutrons from the T(p,n) T(d,n), and D(d,n) reactions. The measured neutron flux as a function of energy is compared with the results of Monte Carlo calculations performed with the MCN code. Uranium cross sections from ENDF/B-IV and an older set from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory were used in these calculations. The results calculated using the ENDF/B-IV cross sections are in good agreement with the measurements, especially in the 1- to 6-MeV energy region where the uncertainties in both the calculated and experimental results are the smallest.