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
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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
Dec 2024
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Christmas Night
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the houseNo electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged in by the chimney with careWith the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
Robert B. Campbell, L. John Perkins
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 16 | Number 3 | November 1989 | Pages 383-387
Special Section Content | Cold Fusion Technical Notes | doi.org/10.13182/FST89-A29130
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In response to the startling announcement of fusion reactions occurring at room temperature by Fleischmann and Pons (F-P), the possible role of high-current densities in producing neutrons and excess heat in deuterated titanium maintained near ambient temperatures and pressures is examined. The apparatus used consists of a balanced resistive circuit containing a deuterated “active” element and a hydrogenated “control” element. The use of a simple electrical circuit (no electrolysis) with elements made of chemically stable TiDx, X = 0.9, removes the complications involved in distinguishing between heat released by chemical versus nuclear processes in an electrolytic cell. This apparatus tests the possibility that the role of high-current density in the F-P experiments is to create such nonequilibrium states as strong pinching due to current microchanneling in the metallic lattice. This strong pinching, in turn, could reduce the deuteron-deuteron separation sufficiently to cause significant fusion. To detect neutrons, an NE-213 liquid organic scintillator spectrometer is used, with gamma counts eliminated by means of pulse-shape discrimination. Samples are subjected to current densities of ∼50 A /cm2 for time periods of 19 h. This current density is a factor of 100 greater than the largest value reported by Fleischmann and Pons. No significant neutron levels are detected above background. The temperature rise of the two samples during the application of the current can be explained by joule heating alone, with no other heat sources present. Based on these experiments, no excess heat is observed within the accuracy of the apparatus, which is estimated to be 10%. It is concluded that the large quantity of excess heat reported by Fleischmann and Pons is due to the presence of factors other than the current density.