What's In A Name?





The ENDF formats were originally developed for use in the US national nuclear data files called ENDF/B (the Evaluated Nuclear Data Files). These files went through various versions with names like ENDF/B-III, ENDF/B-IV, and ENDF/B-VI. The formats were upgraded with each version to handle new features, for example, the extension from the original upper limit of 15 MeV to 20 MeV, the addition of photon production information, the introduction of new resonance formats, or the addition of charged-particle data. As ENDF/B-VI was being prepared, it was noted that the ENDF formats were coming into wide use around the world, including the JEF files in Europe, the JENDL files in Japan, and the BROND files in Russia. It was decided to decouple the ENDF formats from the ENDF/B libraries in order to make this international use easier. Therefore, we now refer to the "ENDF-6 format" to distinguish it from the "ENDF/B-VI library."

Control over the ENDF formats has been retained by the US Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG), and the format specifications are published through the National Nuclear Data Center at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.


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15 December 2012 T-2 Nuclear Information Service ryxm@lanl.gov