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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Researchers use one-of-a-kind expertise and capabilities to test fuels of tomorrow
At the Idaho National Laboratory Hot Fuel Examination Facility, containment box operator Jake Maupin moves a manipulator arm into position around a pencil-thin nuclear fuel rod. He is preparing for a procedure that he and his colleagues have practiced repeatedly in anticipation of this moment in the hot cell.
Ian R. Terry
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 113 | Number 3 | March 1993 | Pages 282-285
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE93-A24496
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The problem of determining neutron yield from the (α, n) reaction has been the subject of much investigation, mainly experimental, for a number of years. Calculated values depend on cross sections and other nuclear data, which are not available for all isotopes. As a compromise, using the experimental data as a basis, an expression has been derived to provide a simple computation of the neutron yield in any given mixture containing actinides. This has been successfully tested with known (α,n) neutron source strengths in compounds of plutonium.