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.
O. Ågren, V. E. Moiseenko, K. Noack, A. Hagnestål
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 57 | Number 4 | May 2010 | Pages 326-334
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST57-326
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The straight field line mirror (SFLM) field with magnetic expanders beyond the confinement region is proposed as a compact device for transmutation of nuclear waste and power production. A design with reactor safety and a large fission-to-fusion energy multiplication is analyzed. Power production is predicted with a fusion Q = 0.15 and an electron temperature of [approximately]500 eV. A fusion power of 10 MW may be amplified to 1.5 GW of fission power in a compact hybrid mirror machine. In the SFLM proposal, quadrupolar coils provide stabilization of the interchange mode, radio-frequency heating is aimed to produce a hot sloshing ion plasma, and magnetic coils are computed with an emphasis on minimizing holes in the fission blanket through which fusion neutrons could escape. Neutron calculations for the fission mantle show that nearly all fusion neutrons penetrate into the fission mantle. A scenario to increase the electron temperature with a strong ambipolar potential suggests that an electron temperature exceeding 1 keV could be reached with a modest density depletion by two orders in the expander. Such a density depletion is consistent with stabilization of the drift cyclotron loss cone mode.