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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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. D. B. van Bragt, Rizwan-uddin, T. H. J. J. van der Hagen
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 134 | Number 2 | February 2000 | Pages 227-235
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE00-A2113
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Bifurcation analyses of the impact of the void distribution parameter C0 and the axial power profile on the stability of boiling water reactors (BWRs) are reported. Bifurcation characteristics of heated channels (without nuclear feedback) appear to be very sensitive to the axial power profile. A turning point bifurcation was detected for a (symmetrically) peaked axial power profile. This kind of bifurcation does not occur for a uniformly heated channel.Both supercritical and subcritical Hopf bifurcations were encountered in a (nuclear-coupled) reactor system, depending on the strength of the void reactivity feedback. Subcritical bifurcations become less likely to occur as C0 is significantly larger than unity. In BWRs with a strong nuclear feedback, the oscillation amplitude of limit cycles caused by a supercritical bifurcation is very sensitive to both C0 and the axial power profile.
