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
Mar 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
Pacific Fusion pulsed-power facility to host external users
Concept art of Pacific Fusion’s demonstration system. (Image: Pacific Fusion)
Pacific Fusion is preparing to start construction on a pulsed-power inertial fusion facility in New Mexico, and today the company announced it is seeking expressions of interest from researchers in industry, academia, and government who may want to run experiments at the facility.
David Hillesheimer, Alexander Marsteller, Florian Priester, Marco Röllig, Michael Sturm, Stefan Welte, Johanna Wydra, Lutz Bornschein, Tobias Falke, Tobias Weber, Nancy Tuchscherer, Thanh-Long Le, Simon Niemes
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | April-May 2024 | Pages 465-471
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2209691
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment measures the tritium β-spectrum close to the maximum decay energy to achieve the value of the electron-antineutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c2 (90% confidence level). Since only a small fraction of the decay electrons carries nearly all the energy, a high luminous tritium source, with its supporting infrastructure facilities, is necessary.
Since the start of the tritium operation of KATRIN back in May 2018, more than 600 days of 24/7 measuring campaigns with a total tritium throughput of ≈18.1 kg and a tritium concentration >95% have been conducted. Despite several technical issues occurring during the run time, the necessary reliable supply of tritium was provided. This contribution will give an overview of the current operational conditions of the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe tritium facilities involved, as well as the relevant technical, analytical, and administrative procedures implemented. Furthermore, an analysis will be given for system and component malfunctions in the tritium loop as well as the associated actions for problem-solving and repair. In addition, an end-of-life investigation for the component failure will be presented.