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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
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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 Sheffield, Mohamed Sawan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 53 | Number 3 | April 2008 | Pages 780-788
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST53-780
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Catalyzed D-D is the ultimate fusion cycle, because deuterium is essentially unlimited on earth. In this approach, the 3He and tritium fusion products are recycled to increase the charged particle fusion power. A difficulty with this fusion cycle is that the tritium from fusion, if left in the plasma, produces 14-MeV neutrons, leading to radiation damage comparable to that of the D-T cycle. This paper shows that the damage problems may be alleviated by removing tritium before it can burn. Fortunately, the charged particle fusion power from burning the tritium is small compared to that from the 3He and removing it from the plasma makes little difference to the plasma power balance. Ion cyclotron power might be used to pump out tritium. In this paper, we review the benefits of tritium removal, identify the issues associated with this approach, and determine illustrative parameters required for an advanced tokamak and an advanced stellarator.