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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DOE, INL, Kairos talk nuclear energy at Senate committee hearing
It has been 10 months since President Trump signed several executive orders that have reshaped the nuclear energy industry and set lofty goals for initiatives like the development and deployment of new nuclear technology.
One such initiative, the DOE’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, calls for at least 3 of the 11 reactors in the program to achieve criticality by July 4, 2026. Some have questioned whether this target is feasible.
Robert Conn, Lawrence T. Papay
Nuclear Technology | Volume 12 | Number 3 | November 1971 | Pages 269-275
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A31006
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The use of reactor waste heat to prevent the formation of advection fogs, particularly those off the coast of southern California, is investigated. It is found that the formation of these fogs can be inhibited by heating the surface of a cold band of offshore water which acts as a catalyst in the sequence of steps leading to fog formation. The surface water of the cold band (colder than the surrounding waters by 1 to 4°F) can be heated with reactor waste heat to raise its temperature to that of the surrounding waters. An estimate is given of the number of installed electrical megawatts required to produce the heat necessary to raise the temperature of the cold tongue a specified amount. The parameters of the cold tongue are based on available sea surface isotherms. The use of reactor waste heat to reduce the intensity (thereby improving visibility) in an existing advection fog is also examined. A mathematical model of advection fog, originally developed by Rodhe and used by Mc Vehil, is employed. It is found that a strongly nonlinear gain in visibility is achieved as the sea surface temperature (temperature at the fog base) is raised. A discussion is included of future studies required to investigate in more detail the feasibility of the ideas presented.