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
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2024
Latest News
New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
Richard B. Nicholson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 3 | Number 5 | May 1958 | Pages 620-627
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE58-A25496
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An analysis has been made of a possible mechanism of reactor instability due to interaction of the effects of longitudinal vibration of the fuel elements, heat generation, thermal expansion, and neutron kinetics. The analysis shows that under certain conditions, if there were no frictional damping forces, an instability would exist in a reactor of the type that has solid fuel elements that run continuously the length of the core. Self-sustained oscillations would build up until the fuel elements were stressed beyond their yield point. It is further shown that the frictional damping must be greater than a certain critical value to prevent an instability of this type. The Enrico Fermi Fast Reactor, taken as an example, is found to have sufficient damping to assure that the instability will not exist.