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.
Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
N. Dianne Bull Ezell, Chuck Britton, Nance Ericson, David Holcomb, M. J. Roberts, Seddik Djouadi, Richard Wood
Nuclear Technology | Volume 202 | Number 2 | May-June 2018 | Pages 173-179
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1452498
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Johnson noise thermometry is one of many important measurement techniques used to monitor the safety levels and stability in a nuclear reactor. However, this measurement is very dependent on the minimal electromagnetic environment. Properly removing unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI) is critical for accurate drift-free temperature measurements. The two techniques developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to remove transient and periodic EMI are briefly discussed in this paper. Spectral estimation is a key component in the signal processing algorithm used for EMI removal and temperature calculation. The cross-power spectral density is a key component in the Johnson noise temperature computation. Applying either technique requires the simple addition of electronics and signal processing to existing resistive thermometers. With minimal installation changes, the system discussed here can be installed on existing nuclear power plants. The Johnson noise system developed is tested at three locations: ORNL, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant. Each of these locations enabled improvement on the EMI removal algorithm. The conclusions made from the results at each of these locations is discussed, as well as possible future work.