ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Benjamin S. Wang, George H. Miley
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 52 | Number 1 | September 1973 | Pages 130-141
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE73-A23296
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A Monte Carlo simulation model for radiation-induced plasmas with nonlinear properties due to recombination has been developed employing a piecewise-linearized predict-correct technique. Several variance reduction techniques are used, including antithetic variates. The resulting code is applied to the determination of the electron energy distribution for a noble-gas plasma created by alpha-particle irradiation. Results are presented for helium with an electron source rate from 1014 to 1018 electrons/(cm3 sec), initial energies from 70 to 1500 eV, pressures from 10 to 760 Torr, and electric-field-to-pressure ratios from 0 to 10 V/(cm Torr). The low-energy portion of the distribution function approaches a Maxwellian for zero field and Druyvesteyn’s distribution with an applied electric field. However, above the ionization potential and extending to the source energy, a parabolic-shaped distribution (tail) occurs.