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
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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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February 2025
Nuclear Technology
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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?
D. E. LaValle, D. A. Costanzo, W. J. Lackey, A. J. Caputo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 33 | Number 3 | May 1977 | Pages 290-295
Technical Paper | Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31790
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fuel for the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor consists of uranium and thorium species in the form of microspheres encapsulated in layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide and bonded into fuel rods. An important characterization of these particles is the fraction in a particular sample or rod that may have defective coatings that would allow the release of gaseous and metallic fission products. In the chlorine leach method for this determination, the fuel exposed by defective coatings is volatilized as the heavy metal chlorides at 1000°C. This method is now adapted for the examination of irradiated fuel rods in a hot cell. It is also extended to chlorinations at 1500°C by induction heating, permitting the rapid examination (2 to 3 h) of unirradiated fuel rods.
