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.
C. J. Lasnier, S. L. Allen, J. A. Boedo, M. Groth, N. H. Brooks, A. McLean, B. LaBombard, C. H. Skinner, D. L. Rudakov, W. P. West, C. P. C. Wong
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 53 | Number 2 | February 2008 | Pages 640-666
Technical Paper | Plasma Diagnostics for Magnetic Fusion Research | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1682
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this chapter we review numerous diagnostics capable of measurements at or near the first wall, many of which contribute information useful for safe operation of a tokamak. Infrared cameras, visible and vacuum ultraviolet cameras, pressure gauges and residual gas analyzers, thermocouples, and erosion and deposition measurements by insertable probes, quartz microbalances, and a rather extensive review of Langmuir probes are discussed. Also discussed are dust measurements by electrostatic detectors, laser scattering, visible and infrared cameras, and manual collection of samples after machine opening. In each case the diagnostic is discussed with a view toward application to a burning plasma machine such as ITER.