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Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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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.”
Shouhei Araki, Yuichi Yamane, Taro Ueki, Kotaro Tonoike
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 195 | Number 10 | October 2021 | Pages 1107-1117
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.1897732
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Criticality control of random media such as fuel debris is one of the most important safety issues in postaccident management. A 1/fβ spectrum randomizing model is expected to simulate such random media because it is well known that 1/fβ noise can describe a diverse range of random and disordered natural phenomena. In this paper, we focus on the relationship between the multiplication factor and moderation condition in the 1/fβ random media. A number of random media were realized with the 1/fβ spectrum randomizing model that is based on the randomized Weierstrass function (RWF). The volume ratio of concrete to fuel was adopted as an index for the moderation condition. The multiplication factors were calculated with a two-energy-group Monte Carlo calculation. The calculation results were analyzed by using standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. Those statistical parameters had an extreme value around the optimum moderation condition. This result suggested that it is possible to predict the rough trend of variation range, distortion, and outlier of multiplication factors in the 1/fβ random media.
