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Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Latest News
Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
John M. Dawson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 22 | Number 1 | August 1992 | Pages 98-102
Technical Paper | D-3He/Fusion Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A30058
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Nonenergy applications of fusion reactors are considered. The direct use of the 14.7-MeV protons from the D-3He reaction for the production of positron-emitting isotopes for medical, industrial, and scientific uses is explored in some detail. Inside a working D-3He reactor, the 14.7-MeV proton flux is of the order of 1022 cm2/s. The conversion of fertile nuclei to useful nuclei can be very prolific. Since the value of such isotopes can be very high (approximately $1012/g), it is possible to have an economical reactor for a machine that just breaks even or is even below breakeven in energy terms. Existing research devices can produce interesting quantities of isotopes for experimental and demonstration purposes. A major problem is the development of a demand for the large quantities of positron emitters that could be produced. If such a source of isotopes were to exist, as with many new developments, the demand would probably follow.