ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
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.”
D. R. Harding, M. D. Wittman, D. H. Edgell
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 2 | March-April 2013 | Pages 95-105
Technical Paper | Selected papers from 20th Target Fabrication Meeting, May 20-24, 2012, Santa Fe, NM, Guest Editor: Robert C. Cook | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A16326
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Modifications to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Cryogenic Target Positioner (Cryo-TarPos) are needed to provide polar-drive-ignition targets; ideally, these modifications will be completed and tested by 2017, the earliest date anticipated for polar-drive-ignition experiments. The extent of these modifications is defined by the mechanical and thermal requirements needed for the target to conform to the ignition design and the capabilities of the existing equipment. This paper describes the design of the polar-drive target assembly and the surrounding cryogenic environment that meets many of the specifications and requirements for the ignition target. Further work is necessary to optimize the design and provide more-detailed guidance for modifying the NIF Cryo-TarPos; however, there is sufficient information to begin the redesign effort at the conceptual level.A specialized facility has been constructed to test different target assembly and cryogenic hardware designs. The equipment provides the mechanical and cryogenic functionality available at the NIF, making it possible to test different target designs with deuterium in a configuration suitable for integration with the NIF Cryo-TarPos. The polar-drive target assembly has demonstrated a stable ice layer (170 to 350 m thick) and the ability to control the thickness to ±3 m of the desired value. The target is rotatable to fully characterize the D2 ice surface using shadowgraphy and X-ray phase contrast. Thermal models of the target and its environment indicate that (a) it should be possible to achieve the desired 1-m root-mean-square smoothness using D-T, (b) the fill tube has little effect on the ice smoothness, and (c) it is possible to shape the isotherms surrounding the target sufficiently to form an oblate ice layer that may be more desirable for polar-drive implosions.
