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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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What’s in your Dubai chocolate? Nuclear scientists test pistachios for toxins
For the uninitiated, Dubai chocolate is a candy bar filled with pistachio and tahini cream and crispy pastry recently popularized by social media influencers. While it’s easy to dismiss as a viral craze now past its peak, the nutty green confection has spiked global pistachio demand, and growers and processors are ramping up production. That means more pistachios need to be tested for aflatoxins—a byproduct of a common crop mold.
Richard L. Caldwell, William R. Mills, Jr., John B. Hickman, Jr.
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 8 | Number 3 | September 1960 | Pages 173-182
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE60-A25797
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Gamma rays in the energy range 2 to 11 Mev produced by inelastic scattering of 14-Mev neutrons by nine elements were measured at a mean angle of 90 deg. Excluding carbon and oxygen, the maximum energy gamma rays varied from about 8 Mev for phosphorus to about 10.5 Mev for magnesium and 11 Mev for silicon. Resolved gamma rays were observed from carbon (4.43 Mev), oxygen (6.1 and 7 Mev), silicon (1.78 Mev), aluminum (2.2 Mev), phosphorus (2.2 Mev), sulfur (2.2 Mev), and calcium (3.7 Mev). In the energy range 4–6 Mev there are indications of individual gamma rays in silicon; no resolved gamma-ray peaks above 2 Mev were observed for iron and magnesium. Except for carbon and oxygen, the intensity of gamma rays decreases with increase in energy and varies from about 3 to 9 times higher at 2–3 Mev than at 5–6 Mev. Gamma-ray production cross sections are given for each element, relative to the known cross section for carbon. The ratio of the integrated cross section for gamma-ray production above 2 Mev to the nonelastic neutron cross section varies from 0.59 for sulfur to 0.99 for iron.