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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
Nuclear Dirigo
On April 22, 1959, Rear Admiral George J. King, superintendent of the Maine Maritime Academy, announced that following the completion of the 1960 training cruise, cadets would begin the study of nuclear engineering. Courses at that time included radiation physics, reactor control and instrumentation, reactor theory and engineering, thermodynamics, shielding, core design, reactor maintenance, and nuclear aspects.
Robert E. Rothe, C. L. Schuske, E. E. Hicks
Nuclear Technology | Volume 7 | Number 6 | December 1969 | Pages 505-512
Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT69-A28369
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experimental data are presented to show the conditions under which a complex fissile system may be conservatively approximated by a simpler system. The complex system consists of an unpoisoned uranium-solution slab in contact, on one face, with a thick region of heavily boronpoisoned uranium solution. The simpler system consists of an unpoisoned uranium-solution slab reflected, on one face, by Plexiglas. A calculated correction to yield a similar result for water is also presented. Use of this approximation will simplify a nuclear-safety engineer's evaluation of complex interacting fissile regions containing heavily poisoned and unpoisoned vessels. Measured critical thicknesses are reported for uranium-solution slabs unreflected, reflected on one face only, and reflected on both faces by Plexiglas. These data and calculations on infinitesolution slabs similarly reflected confirm that the critical height decreases linearly as the percent of the surface area reflected increases.