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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
L. E. Hansen, E. D. Clayton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 3 | Number 8 | August 1967 | Pages 481-487
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT67-A27779
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experimental criticality data do not exist for most plutonium compounds. To obtain guidelines for nuclear criticality safety use, a survey utilizing transport-theory calculations was made to determine the critical masses of bare and water-reflected spheres as a function of density and H:Pu ratio for 12 of these compounds in the undermoderated range (H:Pu ≤ 20). The compounds considered were: PuH2, PuH3, PuN, PuC, Pu2C3, PuO2, Pu2O3, PuF3, PuF4, PuCl3, Pu(NO3)4, Pu(C2O4)2. Also derived were core density exponents which permit critical masses to be predicted for compounds with densities ranging down to one-fifth of their theoretical values. The validity of the calculations was examined by comparing results with the limited criticality data on homogeneous PuO2 systems in the undermoderated range. Comparisons were also made for Pu metal systems and for three heterogeneous Pu-fueled assemblies.
