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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
M. Tokitani, N. Yoshida, M. Miyamoto, T. Hino, Y. Nobuta, S. Masuzaki, N. Ashikawa, A. Sagara, N. Noda, H. Yamada, A. Komori, LHD Experiment Group
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 58 | Number 1 | July-August 2010 | Pages 305-320
Chapter 7. Plasmas-Wall Interactions | Special Issue on Large Helical Device (LHD) | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-A10817
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Large Helical Device (LHD) has been equipped with movable- and fixed-type material probe systems. Characterization studies of surface modifications on plasma-facing components (PFCs) have been actively progressing by using these probes. After exposure of the PFCs to the plasma, various kinds of surface analysis were conducted. The first walls and divertor tiles of LHD are made of stainless steel and isotropic graphite (IG-430U, Toyo Tanso Co., Ltd.), respectively. They are frequently exposed not only to high-power pulsed main discharges but also to wall-conditioning processes such as glow discharge cleaning (GDC). Thus, the surfaces of the PFCs are drastically changed due to sputtering erosion, impurity deposition, and melting damage. Graphite divertor tiles are eroded primarily during the main discharges; the eroded carbon migrates and deposits on the first-wall surfaces, particularly near the divertor array. First walls are eroded mainly during GDC, which significantly changes the condition of the PFCs. During the main discharges, the majority of incidence particles to the first wall are energetic neutrals (CX neutrals) generated by charge-exchange collisions. Studies of the material damage caused by CX neutrals also have been done. In this paper, the characteristics of surface modifications of PFCs by means of material probe experiments and subsequent surface analysis are summarized.