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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.
R. L. Walsh
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 102 | Number 2 | June 1989 | Pages 119-133
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE89-A23637
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations of fission neutron spectra and fission spectrum integrals for six fissioning systems are reported. The systems studied are thermal-neutron-induced fission of 233U, 235U, and 239Pu; 2-MeV neutron fission of 232Th and 238U; and spontaneous fission of 252Cf The Madland-Nix formalism is used, but is extended to take account of the spin of the fission fragment. Also, more recent values for the average energy release in fission are used. The results of the fission neutron spectrum calculations are given in tabular and graphical form for applied purposes and are compared with experimental data. Similar deviations from a Maxwellian spectrum are seen for each system. The effect on the fission neutron spectra of 233U, 235U, and 239Pu from inclusion of alternative values for the average total fragment kinetic energy is shown.