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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2025
Nuclear Technology
September 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NNSA awards BWXT $1.5B defense fuels contract
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded BWX Technologies a contract valued at $1.5 billion to build a Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) pilot plant in Tennessee in support of the administration’s efforts to build out a domestic supply of unobligated enriched uranium for defense-related nuclear fuel.
Y. Ronen
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 156 | Number 3 | July 2007 | Pages 408-409
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE07-A2708
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A "fertile" isotope is defined as a long-lived isotope from which, as a result of a (n,) reaction, we obtain a fissile isotope of a different element. It was found that most of the fertile isotopes have a 2Z - N = 38 value and that these isotopes are the most stable isotopes in their corresponding elements. It was also found that the largest number of "stable" nuclei have a 2Z - N = 38 "magic" value.