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
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
R. R. Paguio, J. F. Hund, B. E. Blue, D. G. Schroen, K. M. Saito, C. A. Frederick, R. J. Strauser, K. Quan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 484-489
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A7431
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Single and double sapphire spheres have been precisely suspended in 300 mg/cm3 RF aerogels without a supporting stalk by modifying parameters such as gelation time and stability of the aerogel precursor solution and use of a vacuum holder for the sphere placement. A process for fabricating a single-sphere target was also developed using a spider silk support (approximately) 100 times thinner than the earlier work on similar targets. Characterization of the ball placement and the aerogel was done by radiography. Data from the characterization of these targets showed that the ball was accurately placed and the aerogel matrix was not significantly altered.