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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2026
Latest News
Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
K. Yoshikawa, H. Toku, K. Masuda, T. Mizutani, A. Nagafuchi, M. Imoto, T. Takamatsu, K. Nagasaki
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 44 | Number 2 | September 2003 | Pages 529-533
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Nonelectric Applications | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A391
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A magnetron discharge was adopted in the inertial-electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion device for drastic improvement of fusion reaction rate. With this discharge in the vicinity of the vacuum chamber, a substantial number of ions produced there are expected to have almost full energy corresponding to the applied voltage to the transparent IEC cathode under relatively low pressures compared with the conventional glow discharge. The magnetron discharge is found to occur even for the pressure of 0.07 mTorr (H2) in the present configuration of the experiment, compared with 5 mTorr in the glow discharge.