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
NRC’s hybrid AI workshop coming up
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a hybrid public workshop on September 24 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its activities for the safe and secure use of artificial intelligence in NRC-regulated activities.
William S. Cooper
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 632-641
Plasma Heating, Impurity Control, and Fueling | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22932
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Negative-ion-based neutral beam systems can perform multiple functions for fusion reactors, such as heating, current drive in tokamak reactors, and establishing and maintaining potential barriers in tandem mirror reactors. Practical systems operating continuously at the 200 keV, 1 MW level can be built using present-day technology. Ion sources have been demonstrated that produce D− beams with <5% electron content, and that operate at linear current densities that are within a factor of 2 of what conservatively designed accelerator/transport structures can handle. Concepts are in hand for transporting the negative ion beam through a neutron maze before neutralization, thus permitting a radiation-hardened beamline. With an advanced laser photoneutralizer, overall system power efficiencies of 70% should be possible. A national program is being planned to achieve the goal of application of 475 keV systems on a mirror ETR in 1994.