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
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2026
Nuclear Technology
January 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
C. A. Frederick, C. A. Back, A. Nikroo, M. Takagi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 51 | Number 4 | May 2007 | Pages 647-650
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1458
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Target design for the National Ignition Facility requires either a glass or polyimide (PI) fill tube. To study the hydrodynamic effects that are introduced by a fill tube during capsule implosion, fill tube targets were fabricated for experiments at the Z-Pinch facility. Three and four fill tube targets were designed and fabricated to maximize data during each experiment. Targets were made with PI and glass fill tubes on the same capsule to study the shadowing differences between glass and plastic fill tubes. Four tube targets were fabricated with diameters ranging from 10-45 m to study the effect diameter has on implosion characteristics. Capsules were coated with a germanium-doped layer of glow discharge polymer. Blind holes were drilled in the capsules using an excimer laser. Fill tubes were fabricated using modified capillary pullers and assembly was done on a specially designed assembly station designed for fill tube fabrication. Targets were characterized by optical microscopy and by micron resolution x-ray tomography.