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
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Zhonglu Wang, Rebecca M. Howell, Stephen F. Kry, Eric A. Burgett, Nolan E. Hertel, Mohammad Salehpour
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 3 | December 2009 | Pages 603-609
Neutron Measurements | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (PART 3) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9276
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A gold-and-indium dual-activation-foil-based Bonner sphere system (BSS) for neutron spectral measurements was investigated. A customized polyethylene holder was designed to simultaneously accommodate one indium foil and one gold foil placed orthogonally to each other. The holder, which fits into the center of a Bonner sphere, resembles a standard 6LiI(Eu) detector. The response of the dual-activation-foil-based system was calculated using the MCNPX code with different activation cross-section libraries (ACTL and ENDF/VI for gold foils and ACTL and 532DOS2 for indium foils). To verify and correct the calculated response functions, measurements were performed using 252Cf and AmBe neutron sources of known strengths. Working response functions were determined for neutrons with energies ranging from thermal to 20 MeV by applying correction factors from measurements in well-characterized beams to the Monte Carlo-calculated response functions. Measured data were successfully unfolded with the corrected response functions and found to be in good agreement with the known spectra.
