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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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!
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Keeping up with Kewaunee
In October 2012, Dominion Energy announced it was closing the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, a two-loop 574-MWe pressurized water reactor located about 27 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wis., on the western shore of Lake Michigan. At the time, Dominion said the plant was running well, but that low wholesale electricity prices in the region made it uneconomical to continue operation of the single-unit merchant power plant.
Edward Teller
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 1 | Number 4 | August 1956 | Pages 313-324
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE56-A18604
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Thermonuclear reactions under steady-state conditions are considered in order-of-magnitude terms. Energy loss by radiation and the transfer of energy between nuclei and electrons are also discussed. It is pointed out that the principal problem is constructing a suitable “magnetic bottle” in which nuclei of a dilute, completely ionized gas (e.g., H2, H3) at a temperature 108 °K can be confined and reacted before losing too much energy to the walls. The practical confinement of the plasma, involving substantial hydromagnetic difficulties, can probably be accomplished, although it appears to be perhaps decades in the future. Potential advantages of a thermonuclear reactor over a fission reactor include: virtually inexhaustible fuel supply available, fuel reprocessing unnecessary, no chain reaction run-away hazard present, and direct conversion of thermonuclear energy to electrical energy may be possible.