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Conference Spotlight
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.
James H. Degnan, William L. Baker, Maynard Cowan, Jr., Jack D. Graham, Jed L. Holmes, Emmanuel A. Lopez, David W. Price, Dale Ralph, Norman F. Roderick
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 3 | May 1999 | Pages 354-360
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A85
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experiment to combine many moderate-energy plasma gun discharges into one higher-energy discharge is described. Operated in a cylindrical array were 12 to 24 plasma guns with individual currents of up to 300 kA and individual discharge energies of 25 to 80 kJ. They were directed radially inward. They used separate refractory insulators. Reusable operation was achieved at up to a 1-MJ, 3-MA composite discharge level, and fast photography indicated that the separate discharges combined to form a single, symmetric, cylindrically converging discharge.