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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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.
T. Kammash, D. L. Galbraith
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 106 | Number 2 | October 1990 | Pages 156-159
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE90-A27467
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A recently proposed, novel approach to inertial confinement fusion is examined as a potential source of fast neutrons. Known as the magnetically insulated inertial confinement fusion (MICF) system, it combines the favorable aspects of both magnetic and inertial fusions into one. In this approach, the hot fusion plasma is created inside a hollow spherical pellet whose inner walls are coated with deuterium-tritium fuel and ablated by a laser that enters the target through a hole. Physical containment of the plasma is provided by the metallic shell that surrounds the fuel, while its thermal energy is insulated from the wall by a strong, self-generated magnetic field. In contrast to implosion-type inertial fusion systems, the lifetime of the hot plasma in MICF is dictated by the shock speed in the shell, rather than by the sound speed in the plasma; as a result, it is about two orders of magnitude longer. This translates into a significantly higher Q (ratio of fusion energy to input energy) values at modest input laser energies, which in turn means it can serve as an effective source of high energy neutrons.