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
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Christmas Light
’Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
No electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged by the chimney with care
With the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
V. C. Badham, W. E. Kastenberg, G. C. Pomraning, D. Okrent
Nuclear Technology | Volume 47 | Number 2 | February 1980 | Pages 221-233
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT80-A32428
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Whenever a fissionable blanket is added to a controlled thermonuclear reactor, an investigation of the potential for accidental criticality is necessary to ensure the safety of this hybrid device. The neutronic effects of blanket meltdown and the ingress of steam into the blanket, studied for one such fusion-fission hybrid reactor, indicate that accidental criticality will be achieved only for very long blanket residence times or highly improbable accident sequences. Even though only one hybrid device was investigated, the results indicate that it is possible to design a reactor that will remain subcritical even under certain incredible circumstances.