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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.
B. K. Malaviya, N. N. Kaushal, M. Becker, E. T. Burns, A. Ginsberg, E. R. Gaerttner
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 47 | Number 3 | March 1972 | Pages 329-348
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A22419
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As part of a comprehensive program devoted to the integral checks of differential microscopic cross-section data pertinent to the LMFBR program, the experimental and analytical investigations of fast neutron transport in bulk assemblies of iron are described. Time-of-flight measured fast-neutron angular flux spectra at different positions in a simple, clean, homogeneous assembly are analyzed using ENDF/B data as input, MC2 code system, and SN transport calculations. In addition, continuous slowing down theory has been developed to complement precise calculations by indicating direct relationships between cross-section uncertainties and spectra; this approach permits integrating other non-ENDF/B data in the analysis. The well-defined integral experiment permits clear-cut interpretation leading to definitive conclusions with respect to input data and also to checks of standard analytical codes. The Karlsruhe (KEDAK) data set and the ENDF/B-I and ENDF/B-II files for iron have been assessed. On the basis of cross-section uncertainties in iron and of their influence on spectra, it is possible to recommend not only preferred data, but also a redirection in emphasis in differential measurements and evaluation. For fast reactor applications, ENDF/B-I set is prefer able, subject to certain limitations.