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
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2026
Nuclear Technology
July 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The deadline arrives: Checking in on the Reactor Pilot Program
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14301, “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the DOE,” which instructed the Department of Energy to create a Reactor Pilot Program (RPP)—a new system in which companies could pursue DOE authorization to build and test their first-of-a-kind nuclear technologies. EO 14301 set an ambitious goal for that program: three reactors achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
Lawrence Ruby, Joseph Bechen
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 6 | Number 4 | October 1959 | Pages 272-278
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE59-A28843
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This system uses a large organic scintillator as a moderator for a burst of fast neutrons, many of which are subsequently captured by the hydrogen in the scintillator. The pulses produced by the 2.2-Mev capture γ-rays are observed by four photomultiplier tubes whose anodes are paralleled. The output pulses are amplified and counted by a 10-Mc scaler. The scaler is gated to count for 300 µsec after the pulse, during which interval background is very small. Statistically significant information on total neutron output may be obtained for as few as 103 neutrons per pulse, with practically no upper limit. Relative calibration of the system is simple, and absolute calibrations are stable and reproducible.