Summary [Symposium on Neutron Thermalization and Reactor Spectra, Ann Arbor, MI (United States), 17-21 July 1967]

In summary some conclusions might be drawn which are perhaps controversial enough to produce argument. The most dramatic aspect of the Symposium seemed to be the fact that sophisticated theoretical calculations are moving into the area in which they can be of real practical importance in reactor design (for the determination primarily of temperature and long-term reactivity effects). The experimental results are beginning to show the type of agreement with theory that will give the design engineer confidence in using these methods and data, and further effort towards removing the remaining discrepancies will certainly be improved by the use of higher intensity machines. At the same time, computational methods are improving to the point that reactor calculations can be carried out in sufficient detail to improve greatly the economics and operating characteristics. Since this is a primary objective of nuclear energy technology, perhaps we can conclude that basic research in this area has also become of real practical importance