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
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
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Candidates for leadership provide statements: ANS Board of Directors
With the annual ANS election right around the corner, American Nuclear Society members will be going to the polls to vote for a vice president/president-elect, treasurer, and members-at-large for the Board of Directors. In January, Nuclear News published statements from candidates for vice president/president-elect and treasurer. This month, we are featuring statements from each nominee for the Board of Directors.
J. Malvyn McKibben
Nuclear Technology | Volume 4 | Number 4 | April 1968 | Pages 260-267
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT68-A26323
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Certain light elements that undergo nuclear reactions with alpha particles can be identified in alpha emitters such as 238PuO2 by analysis of the resulting radiation—specifically, of gamma photons, or “reaction gammas.” Gamma spectrometry has been used successfully for this purpose on production lots of 238PuO2 from which neutron emission rates were abnormally high because of (α,n) reactions with impurities. To establish a base for this type of analysis, reaction gamma spectra for 14 light elements were obtained by measuring gamma spectra from samples of 238PuO2 before and after addition of known quantities of the elements. Emission rates of major gammas of each element, in γ/min per gram of 238Pu, were also developed from these standard mixtures. A catalog of principal reaction gammas from each element was assembled. Although absolute emission rates of reaction gammas were obtained, this technique is only semiquantitative because the gamma yield is highly dependent on a number of variables, including the incident alpha-particle energy and the distribution of the impurity element in the sample.