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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.
Raymond Gold and Roland J. Armani, James H. Roberts
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 34 | Number 1 | October 1968 | Pages 13-32
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE68-A19362
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The method of fission track counting has been placed on a precise absolute basis. Sources of systematic error have been investigated and eliminated or reduced so that precise fission rate measurements can be conducted. Solid State Track Recorders (SSTR) of pre-etched mica and polycarbonate resin (Makrofol) have been used. Experimental results depend critically on the quality of the fission sources employed. Consequently, different methods of fission source preparation have been examined. The efficiency and sensitivity of this method have been determined for both mica and Makrofol. An irradiation assembly providing uniform neutron flux exposures is used for relative measurements. Absolute calibrations have been carried out with 244Cm spontaneous fission sources. A limiting accuracy of close to 1% for absolute uranium fission rate measurements has been achieved.