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
Oct 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
November 2025
Nuclear Technology
October 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Russia withdraws from 25-year-old weapons-grade plutonium agreement
Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, approved a measure to withdraw from a 25-year-old agreement with the United States to cut back on the leftover plutonium from Cold War–era nuclear weapons.
Ronald I. Ewing, Michael A. Butler, James E. Schirber, D. S. Ginley
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 16 | Number 3 | November 1989 | Pages 404-407
Special Section Content | Cold Fusion Technical Notes | doi.org/10.13182/FST89-A29135
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A search for neutrons from deuterium “cold fusion” systems (both electrochemical and high-pressure gas cells) was conducted in an underground laboratory using three highly sensitive neutron detectors composed of 3He gas proportional counter tubes embedded in polyethylene moderators. Any neutron emission from a test cell would be simultaneously observed in all three detectors in a known proportion. The counting system can detect random, continuous emission at a rate of <100 n/h, and short bursts of as few as 35 neutrons. None of the cold fusion systems tested emitted neutrons at these levels. Occasional anomalous groups of counts were observed in individual detectors that closely mimicked both continuous and burst emission. These anomalies were identified as spurious detector artifacts rather than true detection, because counts were not observed in the appropriate proportion in all three detectors. The use of multiple detectors simultaneously observing the test system in a very low background environment can effectively identify spurious artifacts that might otherwise be interpreted as evidence of neutron emission and may be essential to the demonstration of low-level neutron production from cold fusion systems.