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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.
W. A. Coleman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 46 | Number 1 | October 1971 | Pages 12-21
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A22331
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Monte Carlo calculations for monoenergetic x rays (70 to 200 keV) normally incident on soil have been performed to determine changes in the reflected radiation due to material perturbations at depths of 1 and 1.6 mean-free-paths. The accuracy of the calculations was achieved using a scheme of correlated sampling in which a “complete correlation” is maintained in the sense that identical sampled event sequences are used for the perturbed and unperturbed problem. A somewhat general discussion of correlated sampling is included with emphasis on the mathematical reasons for employing the method. It is shown for a special case that a naive use of correlated sampling may lead to results drastically inferior to those obtained by independent sampling. The Monte Carlo calculations are compared with two-dimensional discrete ordinates results and agreement is very good. Output quantities are reported in terms of energy-dependent fluence and current. The calculated results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach to albedo sensitivity problems in general.