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
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
A. Kavetsky, G. Yakubova, M. Sychov, Q. Lin, G. Walter, D. Chan, S. Yousaf, H. Socarras, J. Abrefah, K. Bower
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 159 | Number 3 | July 2008 | Pages 321-329
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE159-321
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations and measurements are presented for direct capacitor charging from tritiated electrodes, efficiency in converting beta decay energy into electric current, the effect of geometry on charging current, and the dielectric engineering options/trade-offs. Experiments using 1.4 × 1012 Bq (38 Ci) of tritium provided a 148-nA short circuit (charging) current at 5300 V of open circuit voltage, giving 160-W peak electrical power, with 12.5% overall efficiency. Calculations are in good agreement with the measured voltage accumulated over time for the tritium capacitor.
