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
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Jonathan Scherr, Pavel Tsvetkov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 11 | November 2023 | Pages 1733-1746
Regular Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2209229
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Abilene Christian University (ACU) is developing a 1-MW(thermal) molten salt research reactor that will be built on the ACU campus. A conceptual reactor core model was developed to facilitate the safety analysis required for a construction permit. A series of scoping studies were performed seeking to define the reactor core design parameters subject to a variety of design requirements. A Pareto curve identifying the tradeoff between uranium and LiF-BeF2 was determined. Within this curve, at least 250 kg of uranium and 700 kg of LiF-BeF2 are needed, albeit for different reactor configurations and fuel salt compositions. The cylindrical reactor vessel associated with the best-performing fuel salt composition is ~130 cm in diameter, ~170 cm tall, and contains ~2.5 tons of graphite. The conversion ratio of the reactor is low and will require regular refueling. The shift in neutron spectrum observed with the changing fuel salt composition does not significantly impact reactivity loss with respect to burnup.