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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Latest News
NRC grants Clinton and Dresden license renewals
Three commercial power reactors across two Illinois nuclear power plants—Constellation’s Clinton and Dresden—have had their licenses renewed for 20 more years by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Y. Ronen, E. Fridman, E. Shwageraus
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 153 | Number 1 | May 2006 | Pages 90-92
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE06-A2597
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
There is a growing need for very small nuclear reactors for space applications and as portable high-intensity neutron sources. This technical note investigates the question of what is the smallest possible thermal reactor. It was found that the smallest reactor is a spherically shaped solution of 242mAm(NO3)3 in water. The weight of such a reactor is 4.95 kg with 0.7 kg of 242mAm nuclear fuel. The radius of the reactor in this case is 9.6 cm.