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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
May 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
M. E. Schoff, E. R. Castillo, N. M. Ravelo, M. P. Farrell
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 70 | Number 2 | August-September 2016 | Pages 372-376
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-243
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Planar components made from glow discharge polymer (GDP) are commonly used in laser inertial fusion experiments. The thickness profile of GDP coatings on flat substrates follows a nearly Gaussian distribution with a full-width at half-maximum only 20 mm across, restricting the number of usable components with the same thickness that can be made from each substrate. A new coating method to improve the thickness uniformity and increase the usable area of GDP coatings has been simulated and involves rotating the planar substrate while it is offset from the center of the coating chamber. While the coating rate drops to about 40% at the center, the thickness variation is less than 10% out to a radius of 10 mm, increasing the usable area by a factor of over 7, thereby increasing the number of components that can be made from a single coating.