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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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!
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Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Xiang M. Chen, Virgil E. Schrock, Per F. Peterson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1536-1540
Inertial Fusion Reactor Studies | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29938
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the HYLIFE inertial confinement fusion reactor, fusion occurs in pulses several times every second, x rays ablate material from the array of molten 2LiF-BeF2 salt (Flibe-Li2BeF4) jets used to protect the reactor vessel, generating a hot, dissociated and partially ionized vapor. Further evaporation of the blanket material occurs as the vapor radiates to the jets. Eventually this vapor must be condensed to restore sufficient vacuum for the next shot. The rate of condensation determines the permissible fusion repetition rate. With extensive dissociation, the chemical composition in the reactor will be complicated. A good understanding of the chemical kinetics is essential for the calculation of the composition and, therefore, for the accurate calculation of the vapor condensation rate. Analysis presented here shows that recombination rates will be fast compared to fluid dynamic and condensation time scales for a major portion of the condensation process, making it possible to assume quasi-equilibrium in the vapor phase.
