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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
M. J. Ohanian, R. S. Booth, R. B. Perez
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 30 | Number 1 | October 1967 | Pages 95-103
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE67-A17246
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutron-wave propagation in moderating media is investigated within the framework of the diffusion approximation to the Boltzmann equation, using a realistic scattering model and the eigenfunction expansion method. The eigenfunctions are obtained from the thermalization theory solution to the exponential experiment with their corresponding eigenvalues being the fundamental and higher diffusion lengths of the medium. Expanding the energy dependence of the neutron-wave problem in these eigenfunctions leads to a simpler and more accurate secular determinant than that obtained from a Laguerre polynomial expansion. Solving the secular determinant yields the squared complex inverse relaxation lengths for the asymptotic energy mode and for the continuum energy modes. A discrete energy formulation, Simpson's rule integration scheme, and the Jacobi method of matrix diagonalization are used in the numerical solution to the eigen-value problem. The dispersion law for graphite, obtained by direct solution of the complex secular determinant, is compared with experimental results. This investigation indicates that high-energy-mode contamination will not seriously affect neutron-wave experiments in graphite in the frequency range where diffusion and thermalization parameters can be obtained.