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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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?
Mike Sohan Singh, Lawrence Ruby
Nuclear Technology | Volume 17 | Number 2 | February 1973 | Pages 104-109
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A31237
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A significant amount of radioactivity is pro-duced via secondary nuclear reactions in the water which circulates through the core of a power reactor. The most important reactions are those which produce positron emitters, namely 16(p,α)13N and 11B(a,α)13N which are endoergic, and 18O(p,n)18F which is exoergic. The production of positron-emitting nuclides is of particular significance in the case of boiling water reactors. In such reactors, noncondensibles and steam, which are continually vented from the condenser, may contain appreciable amounts of 13N. The production rates for 18N and 18F have been calculated in the case of a 3250-MW(th) reactor using a simple model for the energy dependence of the neutron and proton fluxes and literature values of the cross sections. The resultant production rates are 2.39 × 1012 at./sec for 13N, and 7.65 × 1011 at./sec for 18F. These productions are in good agreement with measured values of the production rates when the latter are scaled up to 3250 MW(th). Nitrogen-13 release rates scale to be ∼3 mCi/sec, whereas the calculated production rate corresponds to 75 mCi/sec. The difference is probably due to the efficient removal of 13N by the anion exchanges.
