| Nuclear Science in Sept Issue of Physics Today | | Date Created: Sep 07, 2004, 01:41 PM |
| Physics Today is the monthly news magazine for physicists published by the American Institute of Physics. |
This month's issue has two interesting news articles.
First, medical physicists at the July meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Duke University researchers reported the first 3D images of an inorganic test object using neutrons. Neutrons with energies between 1 and 10 MeV can penetrate humans and excite nuclei that later emmit characteristic gamma rays. One problem with this new technique is that an individual neutron causes more biological damage than an x-ray with the same energy. For the new diagnostic to work, researchers need to make the gamma detection system very highly sensitive.
Secondly, Physics Today reported the July US Court of Appeals ruling that DOE can not use the Yucca mountain site as a nuclear waste depository. The 1992 EPA rules state a safety standard at the time of peak risk. But, the Yucca Mountain depository can practically be declared safe for only 10,000 years. (This seems reasonable to me.) So, in the meanwhile, nuclear waste will continue to be stored in 100 smaller sites located within 39 states. |
| Clearly, during times like these, everyone needs to understand at least a little bit of nuclear science. |
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