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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.
I. Pázsit, Y. Yamane
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 133 | Number 3 | November 1999 | Pages 269-281
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE99-A2087
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas are calculated for subcritical systems driven by a multiple emission source, i.e., one that emits several neutrons on each source emission event. The prime example of such sources is a spallation source, which will be used in future accelerator-driven subcritical systems (ADS), such as the energy amplifier. The Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas are calculated with backward master equations for such systems. The essence of the theory is a formula that connects the probability distribution of a cascade, induced by one single particle, with that induced by a continuous source of particles. Compact and consistent expressions are found for both the Feynman- and Rossi-alpha formulas. In agreement with earlier forward-theory-based or heuristic calculations, it is shown that the presence of the spallation source does not alter the time-dependence of the formulas, but enhances its amplitude. Hence, both methods appear to be promising to be used in future stationary ADS systems with relatively large subcriticalities.