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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
G. J. Zeman, D. L. Smith
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 1 | January 1979 | Pages 82-89
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32164
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fatigue tests were conducted in sodium to investigate the influence of an elevated temperature sodium environment on the low cycle fatigue behavior of Types 304 and 316 stainless steel The fatigue tests were conducted at 550°C in sodium of controlled purity, namely, 1 ppm oxygen and 0.3 ppm carbon, at a strain rate of 4 × 10−3s−1. The fatigue life of annealed Type 316 stainless steel was substantially greater when tested in sodium than when tested in air, whereas the test environment had little influence on the fatigue life of Type 304 stainless steel. The effects of long-term sodium preexposure were also investigated. An 18-Ms (5000-h) preexposure to sodium produced little effect on the fatigue life of Type 316 stainless steel tested in sodium. However, a similar sodium exposure had a significant effect on the fatigue behavior of Type 304 stainless steel.
