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.
J.H. Nadler, G.H. Miley, H. Momota, Y. Shaban, Y. Nam, M. Coventry
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 492-497
Alternate and Advanced Concepts | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963284
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experiments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are exploring high current operation in a gridded, Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) device. Until recently all IEC operation has been done at relatively low currents. Calculations indicate that much higher voltages and higher currents are needed to form deep potential wells as required ultimately for reactor applications. Recent experiments have achieved 8×108n/s at peak of 100 microsecond pulses at a cathode-grid potential of 50 kV and 17 amps of current (vs. kA currents projected for a power reactor).