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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
D. R. Harding, T. C. Sangster, D. D. Meyerhofer, P. W. McKenty, L. D. Lund, L. Elasky, M. D. Wittman, W. Seka, S. J. Loucks, R. Janezic, T. H. Hinterman, D. H. Edgell, D. Jacobs-Perkins, R. Q. Gram
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 3 | November 2005 | Pages 1299-1306
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A1079
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The OMEGA cryogenic target handling system provides deuterium-filled cryogenic targets for direct-drive implosion experiments. The targets are 0.9 mm in diameter with a 3-m-thick outer plastic ablator and an inner ice layer that ranges from 80 to 100 m thick. The smoothest ice layer possessed an average root-mean-square (rms) roughness of 1.2 m, although values ranging from 2 to 4 m are more typical. Implosion experiments achieved a maximum yield of 2.11 × 1011 primary neutrons (70% of the clean one-dimensional yield) with an average areal density of 50 mg/cm2 with a 1-ns square, high-adiabat ( = 25) laser pulse. Lower yields (1 × 1010 primary neutrons) and higher areal densities (88 mg/cm2) were obtained using a lower-adiabat ( = 4) laser pulse. Better performance is expected once smoother ice layers (better than 2-m average rms roughness) are positioned within 10 m of where the laser beams are pointed. Currently, the offset between the target's location and where the laser beams are pointing at the moment of implosion is 14 to 60 m.