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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Latest News
Perpetual Atomics, QSA Global produce Am fuel for nuclear space power
U.K.-based Perpetual Atomics and U.S.-based QSA Global claim to have achieved a major step forward in processing americium dioxide to fuel radioisotope power systems used in space missions. Using an industrially scalable process, the companies said they have turned americium into stable, large-scale ceramic pellets that can be directly integrated into sealed sources for radioisotope power systems, including radioisotope heater units (RHUs) and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).
Paul A. Robinson, Jr., George D. Sauter
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 49 | Number 2 | October 1972 | Pages 117-129
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A35500
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Inverse Compton scattering, wherein a photon gains energy as a result of a reaction with a moving electron, has been studied as a potential energy loss mechanism in the operation of a controlled thermonuclear reactor (CTR). Assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium within a 500-cm-diam plasma at 20 keV we have calculated, for various plasma densities, the influence of inverse Compton scattering on steady-state photon energy leakage via two potential cooling effects: the increased escape probability of the photons generated within the plasma itself, and the negative net energy deposition within the plasma of an incident external photon flux, such as might be generated by the CTR radiation shield through (n,γ) reactions and photon scattering. For currently anticipated CTR plasma densities (1015 ions/cm3), the increase in steady-state photon leakage due to inverse Compton scattering is negligible. For plasma densities of 1019 ions/cm3 or more, the increase is significant (≥10%).
