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
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
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
ANS 2025 election is open
The American Nuclear Society election is now open. Members can vote for the Society’s next vice president/president-elect and treasurer as well as six board members (four U.S. directors, one non-U.S. director, and one student director). Completed ballots must be submitted by 1:00 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Paul G. Lorenzini, Alan H. Robinson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 44 | Number 1 | April 1971 | Pages 27-36
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A18902
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The spectral-synthesis method is investigated to assess its applicability for solving the diffusion equation in fast reactor design. The equations are derived so they may be solved by a standard diffusion theory code that allows upscattering. A reference 1000-MW(e) fast reactor is studied and two-dimensional solutions are obtained. The problem of selecting trial functions is examined and four different sets are used in the calculations. The results are compared with few-group calculations to test both accuracy and running times. The few-group and synthesis approximations are, in turn, compared with a 26-group solution which is treated as an exact solution. Some numerical instabilities are experienced and examined. It is concluded that the instabilities are caused by a complete coupling between equations in the scattering matrix. The accuracy of the synthesis approximation is comparable with the few-group approximation for calculating eigenvalues and is slightly superior for determining the flux in the core.