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.
J. J. Mcinerney
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 17 | Number 3 | November 1963 | Pages 392-397
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE63-A17387
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Some aspects of the relation between the energy dependence of the scattering cross section and the spatial distribution of neutrons slowing down in a hydrogeneous moderator are discussed. The neutron population in an infinite medium is analyzed using the mean square slowing down distance, , as a measure of its spatial extent. It is shown that, contrary to what is perhaps expected, the neutron population in many cases is distributed closer to its source with decreasing energy. In the analysis of this behavior it is found that diffusion theory may in some cases be expected to give good results close to the spatial position of the source. A correction term is also found for the “first flight” transport kernel often used in practical calculations.