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.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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
Jun 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
July 2025
Latest News
The U.S. Million Person Study of Low-Dose-Rate Health Effects
There is a critical knowledge gap regarding the health consequences of exposure to radiation received gradually over time. While there is a plethora of studies on the risks of adverse outcomes from both acute and high-dose exposures, including the landmark study of atomic bomb survivors, these are not characteristic of the chronic exposure to low-dose radiation encountered in occupational and public settings. In addition, smaller cohorts have limited numbers leading to reduced statistical power.
M. L. Spaeth, K. R. Manes, D. H. Kalantar, P. E. Miller, J. E. Heebner, E. S. Bliss, D. R. Speck, T. G. Parham, P. K. Whitman, P. J. Wegner, P. A. Baisden, J. A. Menapace, M. W. Bowers, S. J. Cohen, T. I. Suratwala, J. M. Di Nicola, M. A. Newton, J. J. Adams, J. B. Trenholme, R. G. Finucane, R. E. Bonanno, D. C. Rardin, P. A. Arnold, S. N. Dixit, G. V. Erbert, A. C. Erlandson, J. E. Fair, E. Feigenbaum, W. H. Gourdin, R. A. Hawley, J. Honig, R. K. House, K. S. Jancaitis, K. N. LaFortune, D. W. Larson, B. J. Le Galloudec, J. D. Lindl, B. J. MacGowan, C. D. Marshall, K. P. McCandless, R. W. McCracken, R. C. Montesanti, E. I. Moses, M. C. Nostrand, J. A. Pryatel, V. S. Roberts, S. B. Rodriguez, A. W. Rowe, R. A. Sacks, J. T. Salmon, M. J. Shaw, S. Sommer, C. J. Stolz, G. L. Tietbohl, C. C. Widmayer, R. Zacharias
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 69 | Number 1 | January-February 2016 | Pages 25-145
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-144
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The possibility of imploding small capsules to produce mini-fusion explosions was explored soon after the first thermonuclear explosions in the early 1950s. Various technologies have been pursued to achieve the focused power and energy required for laboratory-scale fusion. Each technology has its own challenges. For example, electron and ion beams can deliver the large amounts of energy but must contend with Coulomb repulsion forces that make focusing these beams a daunting challenge. The demonstration of the first laser in 1960 provided a new option. Energy from laser beams can be focused and deposited within a small volume; the challenge became whether a practical laser system can be constructed that delivers the power and energy required while meeting all other demands for achieving a high-density, symmetric implosion. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the laser designed and built to meet the challenges for study of high-energy-density physics and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. This paper describes the architecture, systems, and subsystems of NIF. It describes how they partner with each other to meet these new, complex demands and describes how laser science and technology were woven together to bring NIF into reality.