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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
Naoya Matsui, Takahiro Maegawa, Kazuyuki Noborio, Ryuta Kasada, Yasushi Yamamoto, Satoshi Konishi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 64 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 692-696
Test Blanket, Fuel Cycle, and Breeding | Proceedings of the Twentieth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE-2012) (Part 2) Nashville, Tennessee, August 27-31, 2012 | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-A19173
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutron transport and energy composition of neutron beam extracted from a cylindrical discharge type fusion device was studied by using the computer simulation code, MCNP. In this study, three concepts of neutron beam optics (reflector and moderator) were proposed and examined; combined reflector which consists of two layers of different materials, inserting a moderator into the reflector to thermalize the neutron beam, and bending the extraction channel to avoid direct extraction of high energy neutrons. Combined reflector system produces 3.2 times higher neutron flux than no reflector when using W and Fe as outer and inner reflectors. The beam convergence is not dependent on reflector materials. Polyethylene (PE) and Fe combination produces fast neutron beam where more than 90% of the neutrons are fast. Combination of PE and D2O produces more than 30% thermalized neutron beam, but it contains epithermal and fast neutrons. When using moderator (D2O), the thickness of which is over 30 cm, more than 90% of the neutrons are thermalized. The bend angle of 20° produces more than 80% thermalized neutron beam. Both inserting moderator and bending channel are effective to extract thermalized neutron beam. These results are useful for designing a neutron source which can produce specified neutron beam.