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
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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
Mar 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
WEST claims latest plasma confinement record
The French magnetic confinement fusion tokamak known as WEST maintained a plasma in February for more than 22 minutes—1,337 seconds, to be precise—and “smashed” the previous record plasma duration for a tokamak with a 25 percent improvement, according to the CEA, which operates the machine. The previous 1,006-second record was set by China’s EAST just a few weeks prior. Records are made to be broken, but this rapid progress illustrates a collective, global increase in plasma confinement expertise, aided by tungsten in key components.
R. C. Lloyd, E. D. Clayton
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 62 | Number 4 | April 1977 | Pages 726-735
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A15213
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Knowledge of the effects of neutron absorbers on the criticality of uranium-plutonium systems is necessary to better establish criticality safety programs. These data are needed in setting criticality safety specifications for storage, processing, and shipping of fissile materials where it is desired to handle quantities with safety and efficiency. These data are also needed for validating calculational techniques and cross-section sets. Aqueous solutions of the nitrates of uranium and plutonium were used in these experiments to determine the effect of neutron absorbers on criticality. In some experiments, UO2 and PuO2 rods were latticed in the solutions to which various amounts of gadolinium and a gadolinium-boron mixture were added. Critical dimensions were measured of homogeneous mixtures of the solutions with varying amounts of gadolinium and gadolinium-boron added. The effect of boron-glass Raschig rings on the criticality of the solutions was also determined. Plutonium comprised 30 wt% of the uranium-plutonium component of the solution.