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Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
John Lohr, Y. A. Gorelov, K. Kajiwara, Dan Ponce, R. W. Callis, J. L. Doane, R. L. Ellis, H. J. Grunloh, C. P. Moeller, J. Peavey, R. Prater, J. F. Tooker
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 2 | October 2005 | Pages 1226-1237
Technical Paper | DIII-D Tokamak - Technologies for Next-Step Devices | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A1073
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the DIII-D electron heating and current drive installation, up to six gyrotron microwave generators in the 1-MW class at pulse lengths up to 5 s have been operated simultaneously. The frequency for all the gyrotrons is 110 GHz, corresponding to the second harmonic of the electron gyrofrequency at 2 T. The peak generated power has been >4 MW with peak injected power slightly greater than 3 MW. The radio frequency (rf) generators are located remotely and are connected to the tokamak by up to 100 m of evacuated circular corrugated waveguide carrying the HE1,1 mode with overall transmission efficiency, including coupling to the waveguide, of up to 75%. Ancillary equipment for polarization control, beam switching, power monitoring, control of launch direction, and system protection has been developed.The system has been used to support a wide variety of physics experiments, including control of magnetohydrodynamic modes, current density profile modifications, basic plasma heating and current drive, transport studies, and rf-assisted start-up. The gyrotron complex is being upgraded by the acquisition of additional tubes with 5- to 10-s pulse length capability.
