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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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NECX debut: Shaping the next era of energy
The sold-out inaugural Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX) got off to a bumping start in Atlanta, Ga., Tuesday morning with an opening plenary that felt like part dance party and part highlight reel showing off the latest industry achievements.
That intro left the audience pumped up for Entergy’s CEO and NEI chair Drew Marsh, who welcomed everyone to the event, hosted jointly by the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute. He spoke to a full house of more than 1,300 attendees, promising a blend of science, technology, policy, and advocacy centered around the future of nuclear energy.
J. W. Boyle, H. A. Mahlman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 2 | Number 4 | July 1957 | Pages 492-500
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE57-A25414
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Concentrated thorium nitrate solution has been proposed as a blanket material in power-breeder reactors. The radiation stability, especially of the nitrate group, is therefore of considerable importance. The radiation-induced decomposition of thorium nitrate solutions was studied as a function of concentration, type of radiation (fission recoils, pile radiations, gamma rays), temperature, and total energy absorbed. The principal products were H2 and O2 from decomposition of the water, and N2, O2, and oxides of nitrogen from decomposition of the nitrate. Hydrogen yield decreased with increasing thorium nitrate concentration, a behavior similar to that for uranium solutions. Nitrogen yield was independent of temperature, but increased with increasing nitrate concentration and with increasing linear energy transfer along the paths of the ionizing particles. The 100-ev yield of N2 in 2.73 molal solution was 0.06 for fission particle decomposition, 0.006 for pile radiation (mixed fast neutrons and γ rays) and 0.001 for γ radiation alone. The oxide of nitrogen produced with the largest yield was N2O and amounted to about ten per cent of the N2 yield. In-pile autoclave measurements indicated little radiation-induced back reaction of the nitrogen.