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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Breaking ground on a new approach to construction
The drive to Kairos Power’s reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it’s historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints controlling access to Atomic Energy Commission production facilities.
Muhammad Munir, Nasir Ahmad
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 152 | Number 3 | March 2006 | Pages 314-319
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE06-A2585
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Nitrogen-16 is produced in the coolant of water-cooled reactors from the 16O(n,p)16N reaction, and its rate of generation increases with an increase in reactor power level. Therefore, measurement of gamma rays emitted by 16N in the primary coolant can be used to monitor the reactor power level. Measurements have been made with a locally fabricated argon-filled three-electrode ionization chamber. The (I, V) characteristics of the chamber filled with argon have been studied with 16N gamma rays at the Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1). The ionization current was measured at 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-MW power levels. The measured ionization current was found to increase linearly with the power level. The plateau region of the chamber was observed to start at an applied voltage of 400 V, and the chamber operating voltage was found to be 600 V at an argon gas pressure 1.38 MPa. An empirical relation between reactor power and ionization current was developed. The (1/I, 1/V) and (I, 1/V2) curves elucidate the initial and volume recombination losses, respectively. The volume recombination losses were found to be relatively smaller than the initial recombination losses. These losses were found to increase with increasing power level. However, the increase in the initial recombination losses was slightly greater than the volume recombination losses.