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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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No impact from Savannah River radioactive wasps
The news is abuzz with recent news stories about four radioactive wasp nests found at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The site has been undergoing cleanup operations since the 1990s related to the production of plutonium and tritium for defense purposes during the Cold War. Cleanup activities are expected to continue into the 2060s.
S. Cuperman, B. Levush
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 81 | Number 1 | May 1982 | Pages 45-54
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE82-A19593
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The ion beam-pellet interaction is investigated by using a time-dependent particle tracking algorithm for the slowing down of the bombarding ions. Model equations for energy and momentum deposition are developed and solved with the aid of a numerical code that describes the beam-pellet interaction as well as the subsequent heating and compression of the target. Results of calculations carried out for solid deuterium-tritium pellets using beams of deuterons, alpha particles, and lithium ions are presented and discussed. Two main conclusions are found to hold, namely: 1. Consideration of the finite thermalization time of the ion in the transport process results in slower heating and compression of the pellet as well as in smaller thermonuclear yield ratios. 2. Taking into account the momentum deposition of the bombarding ions in the pellet also provides different thermonuclear yields for low initial ion energies; for high initial ion energies, the effect of the momentum deposition is negligible.