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
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
Aug 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
DOE fast tracks test reactor projects: What to know
The Department of Energy today named 10 companies that want to get a test reactor critical within the next year using the DOE’s offer to authorize test reactors outside of national laboratories. As first outlined in one of the four executive orders on nuclear energy released by President Trump on May 23 and in the request for applications for the Reactor Pilot Program released June 18, the companies must use their own money and sites—and DOE authorization—to get reactors operating. What they won’t need is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.
J. A. Hoekzema
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 211-216
Technical Paper | Plasma and Fusion Energy Physics - Plasma Heating and Current Drive | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A485
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An introduction is given to plasma heating and current drive with electromagnetic waves in the electron cyclotron range of frequencies, with emphasis on application in tokamak plasmas. Propagation and absorption of these waves is generally well described by linear theory, a short overview of which is given. Electron cyclotron absorption is limited to regions of the plasma where the gyromotion of electrons is in resonance with the wave frequency and can be well localised, even in smaller experiments. Apart from being able to provide global heating and non-inductive current drive, ECRH and ECCD are therefore important tools to study and manipulate locally instabilities in the plasma which are electron temperature gradient or current driven. Important potential control applications in a reactor grade plasma include mode stabilisation to prevent disruptions, transport manipulation (e.g. to maintain burn) and correction of the bootstrap current profile. The use of EC waves in major tokamak experiments has in the past been restricted due to the lack of suitable sources. These sources are, however, now rapidly becoming available.