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 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Myron B. Reynolds
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 1 | Number 5 | October 1956 | Pages 374-390
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE56-A28776
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The rare gases have not been shown to exhibit measurable equilibrium solubility in metals, nor do any common metals exhibit measurable permeability to the rare gases. By means of nuclear reactions, however, “solid solutions” of rare gases in metals may be produced which permit the rare gas diffusion process to be studied. Results of work on the system radiokrypton-uranium are presented. Diffusion of radiokrypton from small cylinders of irradiated normal uranium was found to be negligible at temperatures below 1000°C. The diffusion rate was found to be quite temperature-sensitive and was considerably enhanced by thermal cycling. Swelling of the metal specimen during the diffusion process and the fact that the theoretical time dependence was never observed, leads to the conclusion that gas escape is by way of grain boundaries or microcracks. A possible mechanism to explain the thermal cycling behavior is presented.