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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.
K. D. Lathrop, N. S. Demuth
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 32 | Number 1 | April 1968 | Pages 120-130
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A18831
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new system of biorthogonal polynomials is developed for the angular expansion of the directional flux in the linear Boltzmann transport equation. It is shown in systems infinite in one space dimension that the angular integral in the Boltzmann equation can be reduced to a weighted integral over the unit circle. The corresponding system of orthogonal functions is found to be a system of two sets of polynomials in two variables. Recursion relations and an addition theorem are derived for these polynomials. The angular dependence of the particle flux is expanded in each set of these polynomials. Systems of partial differential equations are derived for the expansion coefficients, that is, for angular moments of the particle flux. One of these systems is shown to be a specific linear combination of the equations obtained when the directional flux is expanded in spherical harmonics functions specialized for the geometry considered. It is shown that this same system, in (x, y) geometry, reduces simply to the spherical harmonics equations in one-dimensional plane geometry.