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This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Harry McNeill, Martin Becker
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 42 | Number 2 | November 1970 | Pages 220-229
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE70-A19502
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Acoustic wave propagation in a gaseous core nuclear rocket is investigated by a theoretical model. Slab geometry in a long initially uniform cavity is assumed for simplicity and the reflector-heat sink is taken to be of infinite thickness. Blackness theory is used to determine the transmission of thermal neutrons (and thereby the generation of heat) in the fissionable gas of the cavity. Mutual feedback between neutron dynamics and gas dynamics occurs by means of the density-dependence of the blackness coefficients. Numerical results indicate that neutronic feedback can be a significant influence toward stabilization of acoustic oscillations. The critical wave length (which is twice the critical core length) without neutronic feedback is calculated to be 100 cm while critical wave lengths of 150 and 232 cm were obtained for carbon and beryllium reflectors, respectively. These results show that the critical core lengths are still comparable to or shorter than typical reference core lengths (300 cm). Thus, while neutronic feedback has an effect on acoustic instability, the effect is not strong enough to alter the general conclusion that acoustic instability is a potential problem area for gaseous reactor development.