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
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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Latest News
College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
A. Kavetskiy, G. Yakubova, S. M. Yousaf, K. Bower
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 168 | Number 2 | June 2011 | Pages 172-179
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE10-49
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A tritium battery with solid dielectric has been built utilizing a tritium beta source, an electron collector, and a separating layer of dielectric much thicker than the range of tritium beta particles. Electric current between the electrodes is due to an electric field that is created by direct charge accumulation of beta particles in the dielectric. A macroscopic model describing the behavior of current and voltage is proposed. Based on this model and experimental results with 37 GBq (1000 mCi) tritium sources, the electrical characteristics of a device with 37 TBq (1000 Ci) tritium are extrapolated. It is predicted that this battery will have open circuit voltage over 6 kV, short circuit current more than 1 A, and 1 mW of electric power on an optimal load with overall efficiency near 9%.