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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
F. T. Cross, J. C. Sheppard
Nuclear Technology | Volume 13 | Number 1 | January 1972 | Pages 83-94
Technical Paper | Radioisotope | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31070
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The dose rates from an implanted 238Pu heat source have been measured and calculated. The source material was medical grade plutonium of nominal 30-W strength. The tissue-equivalent phantoms were both a large homogeneous right-circular cylinder and a man-simulating Remab phantom. Calculated dose rates agreed to within 20% with measured values except for positions very close to the source. The reasons for discrepancies greater than this are thought mainly to arise from the uncertainties in the photon emission rate and the use of dosimeters too large for neutron measurements close to the source. In general, the agreement of the measured and calculated values is good, at least in the regions where the photons and neutrons make their greatest dose contribution for a source enclosed in a circulatory support system. It is concluded that an artificial heart device incorporating a medical grade plutonium heat source is probably acceptable to the recipient from a radiation dose standpoint independent of its acceptability as a prosthetic device.
