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
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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.”
S. V. Chernitskiy, V. E. Moiseenko, K. Noack, O. Ågren
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 63 | Number 1 | May 2013 | Pages 322-324
doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A16942
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The MCNPX numerical code has been used to model the neutron transport in a mirror based fusion-fission reactor. The purpose is to find a principal design of the fission mantle which fits to the neutron source and to calculate the leakage of neutrons through the mantle surface of the fission reactor.The fission reactor part has a cylindrical shape with an outer radius 1.66 m and a 4 m length. The fuel has the isotopic composition of the spent nuclear fuel from PWR after uranium-238 removal. Inside the fission reactor core is a vacuum chamber with a radius 0.5 m containing a 4 m long hot plasma producing fusion neutrons. To sustain the hot ion plasma which is responsible for the fusion neutron production, neutral beam injection is considered.Calculation results for the radial leakage of neutrons through the mantle surface of the fission reactor are presented. These calculations predict that the power released with neutrons from the reactor to outer space would be small and will not exceed the value of 6 kW while the reactor thermal power is 1 GWth.
