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
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Vincenzo Nassisi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 33 | Number 4 | July 1998 | Pages 468-475
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A46
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transmutation of elements in Pd hydrides with gas loading instead of liquid electrochemistry has been observed. The number of elements found increased for deuterated Pd samples processed with an XeCl excimer laser. The processing times were less than and more than 60 days, and some samples became incandescent when they were put into contact with air. The Pd-processed samples were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope and an electron probe microanalyzer; many pits on the surfaces of the samples were found along with the transmutation of many elements - Al, Au, C, Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, Nd, Ni, O, S, and Si - while the quartz windows, utilized to seal the cell, presented Al, C, Ca, Cl, K, Mg, Na, Ni, S, V, and Zn. Elements were also found, when the cross sections of the Pd samples were analyzed (particularly at a few micrometres from the external surface), that corresponded to the pits. Analysis of the samples that were processed less than 60 days showed that the highest X-ray peak was due to an Al-K emission line, and its intensity was 40% with respect to the Pd-L peak. In samples processed at 60 days, the Al concentration decreased while the Si-K, Fe-K, and O-K emission lines increased, resulting in the highest emission line, and their intensities were 50, 40, and 30%, respectively, with respect to the Pd-L peak.