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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
Albert K. Fischer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1012-1017
Blanket Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29475
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The energetics and kinetics of the evolution of H2O and H2 from LiA1O2 are being studied by the temperature programmed desorption technique. The concentrations of H2, H2O, N2, and O2 in a helium stream during a temperature ramp are measured simultaneously with a mass spectrometer. Blank experiments with an empty sample tube showed that square wave spikes of H2 introduced into the helium gas stream were severely distorted by reaction with the tube walls. The tube could be stabilized, however, by sufficiently prolonged heat treatment with H2 so that H2 peaks would not be distorted up to approximately 923 K(650°C). The amount of H2 adsorption/desorption is small compared to the amount of H2O adsorption/desorption. After prolonged treatment with helium containing 990 ppm H2 at 400°C, H2O evolution into the He-H2 stream was observed during 473 to 1023 K (200 to 750°C) ramps at rates of 2 or 5.6 K/min. The different peak shapes reflecting this process were deconvoluted to show that they are composites of only 2 or 3 reproducible processes. The activation energies and pre-exponential terms were evaluated. The different behavior originates in the differences among different surface sites for adsorption. The interpretation of higher temperature peaks (above 873 K (650°C) must still consider the possibility of contributions from interactions with the steel walls. It was found that H2 enhances evolution of N2 from the steel.