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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
June 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
Alexander G. Oreshko, Anna A. Oreshko
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 7 | October 2024 | Pages 904-915
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2024.2338020
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new method of realizing nuclear fusion reactions based on muon catalysis and the accelerative mechanism is proposed. High-energy ball lightning is periodically generated in a reactor chamber filled with deuterium gas and directed into a container containing liquid tritium. The entry of ball lightning into the tritium is accompanied by the generation of muons and mesomolecules due to a cascade process. Following the ball lightning, a high-energy plasma jet moves under the influence of traveling transverse electromagnetic waves. Deuterium ions and electrons of the jet, accelerated by intense transverse electromagnetic waves, interact with the tritium. Nuclear fusion reactions occur with the participation of muonic molecules at very low temperature. The developed method resolves all physical and technical problems that are inherent in existing traditional methods.