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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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Nuclear Dirigo
On April 22, 1959, Rear Admiral George J. King, superintendent of the Maine Maritime Academy, announced that following the completion of the 1960 training cruise, cadets would begin the study of nuclear engineering. Courses at that time included radiation physics, reactor control and instrumentation, reactor theory and engineering, thermodynamics, shielding, core design, reactor maintenance, and nuclear aspects.
J. N. Anno
Nuclear Technology | Volume 2 | Number 5 | October 1966 | Pages 371-378
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT66-A27613
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experiments performed at the Battelle Research Reactor indicate that the output of electrical components is influenced by a radiation environment in several ways. Gamma radiation produces electron emission from metals, varying from 0.38 × 10−16 A/cm2per R/h for aluminum to 6.1 × 10−16 A/cm2 per R/h for uranium. The gammas also ionize residual gas in the experiment test section and produce heating in the components. Thermal neutrons affect electrical components principally through reactions leading to the emission of beta particles. Fast neutrons and electrons (from various sources) sputter atoms from the surface of materials. The resistance of insulators may be drastically altered in a radiation field, principally by photoconduction. The magnitude of several of these effects of radiation is illustrated by a simple inpile experiment.