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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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What’s in your Dubai chocolate? Nuclear scientists test pistachios for toxins
For the uninitiated, Dubai chocolate is a candy bar filled with pistachio and tahini cream and crispy pastry recently popularized by social media influencers. While it’s easy to dismiss as a viral craze now past its peak, the nutty green confection has spiked global pistachio demand, and growers and processors are ramping up production. That means more pistachios need to be tested for aflatoxins—a byproduct of a common crop mold.
H. Waldinger, J. Agresta, G. Goertzel
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 18 | Number 4 | April 1964 | Pages 459-467
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE64-A18764
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method is formulated for numerical integration of the spherical-harmonics equations in the case of cylindrical geometry. This method avoids many of the difficulties of the usual analytical techniques and allows space-varying sources as well as regions of low neutron cross section and large physical size. The usual spherical-harmonic equations (truncated) are presented in cylindrical geometry. To obtain a set of equations which (because they are more intuitive in form) lead to readily manageable numerical solution, the equations are converted to the discrete ordinate form in cylindrical geometry. From the discrete-ordinate equations, one may readily discuss inward- and outward-going neutrons. Based on this, reflection matrices are introduced at each radius r, one describing the reflection of inwardly directed neutrons by the medium inward of r and the other describing the reflection of outwardly directed neutrons by the medium outward of r. The complete source-independent properties of the medium are described by these reflection matrices. Furthermore, the matrices can be obtained by numerical integration in a single pass, one by integrating from the center out and the other by integrating from the outside in. The source can be treated by considering at each radius r the flux that escapes outward due to sources inward of r and by considering separately the flux that goes inward due to sources outward of r. The first of these escape fluxes is obtained by integration outward from the origin, using the corresponding reflection matrix, the second by integration inwards. Once the above quantities have been found, the fluxes are obtained by solution of simultaneous algebraic equations (no further integrations). Numerical results necessary for the use of this method in the P3 approximation are also given.