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
Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
K. L. Merkle
Nuclear Technology | Volume 22 | Number 1 | April 1974 | Pages 66-78
Technical Paper | Fusion Reactor Materials / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT74-A16275
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Using transmission electron microscopy, 14-MeV damage has been investigated in gold. The sites of energetic displacement cascades are visible because of the presence of vacancy clusters formed by the collapse or rearrangement of vacancies within the depleted zones. A strong tendency toward subcascade formation has been found in the 14-MeV neutron-induced cascades. On the average, 1.8 clusters are formed per cascade. Individual cascades with as many as six subcascades have been found. The number densities of clusters and cascades are proportional to the fluence. The cross section for the formation of visible cascades is σc = 3.3 × 10-24 cm2. It can be shown that recoils from elastic neutron-scattering events can account for <20% of the visible cascades. The cross section corresponding to the balance of the observed cascades is, within experimental error, equal to the nonelastic neutron-scattering cross section. This indicates that all nonelastic scattering events lead to the formation of a visible cascade. We find quantitative agreement with what is expected from heavy-ion bombardments regarding the cross sections involved; however, estimates of the average cascade energy in the 14-MeV neutron bombardments are somewhat higher than expected.