MIT Explores New Ways to Make Nuclear Energy Cost-Competitive
Three MIT teams to explore novel ways to reduce operations and maintenance costs of advanced nuclear reactors. MIT teams in the GEMINA program will provide…
Nuclear
Transformational Challenge Nuclear Reactor: Microreactor Built Using 3D Printing
Scientists at the Department of Energy Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have their eyes on the prize: the Transformational Challenge Reactor, or…
Physics of Blobs: Surprise Link Found to Edge Turbulence in Plasma Fusion Reactors
Blobs can wreak havoc in plasma required for fusion reactions. This bubble-like turbulence swells up at the edge of fusion plasmas and drains heat from…
3D-Printed Nuclear Reactor Core Promises Faster, More Economical Energy
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are refining their design of a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core, scaling up the additive manufacturing…
Legacy of Cold War Nuclear Bomb Tests Solves Whale Shark Mystery
The radioactive legacy of the arms race reveals true age of the world’s largest fish. Atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War have helped…
Argonne and CERN Explore Long-Held Mystery in Nuclear Physics
Weighing In on the Origin of Heavy Elements A long-held mystery in the field of nuclear physics is why the universe is composed of the…
New Protection for US Energy Grid and Nuclear Weapons Systems
To deter attempts to disable U.S. electrical utilities and to defend U.S. nuclear weapon systems from evolving technological threats, Sandia National Laboratories has begun two…
Global Famine Predicted in Even a Limited India-Pakistan Nuclear War Due to Soot and Firestorms
Soot from firestorms would reduce crop production for years. The concept of nuclear winter — a years-long planetary freeze brought on by airborne soot generated…
Advanced Reactor Technologies to Accelerate the Next Generation of Nuclear Power
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate a new generation…
Traces of New Form of Superfluidity Revealed by Exotic Atomic Nuclei
Recent observations of the internal structure of the rare isotope ruthenium-88 shed new light on the internal structure of atomic nuclei, a breakthrough which could…
Activating Relativistic Effects of Intense Laser Light in Plasma for Nuclear Fusion
Utilizing relativistic effects of intense laser light in plasma, researchers at Osaka University test a new method for achieving consistent nuclear fusion, which may lead…
Chemists Have Found a Productive Use for Stockpiles of Nuclear Waste
Chemists have found a new use for the waste product of nuclear power — transforming an unused stockpile into a versatile compound which could be…
MIT Devises New Effecient Way to Remove Contaminants From Nuclear Wastewater
Method concentrates radionuclides in a small portion of a nuclear plant’s wastewater, allowing the rest to be recycled. Nuclear power continues to expand globally, propelled,…
New Insights Into Uranium Chemistry Can Aid Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste
A new paper to be published on December 16, 2019, provides a significant new insight into our understanding of uranium biogeochemistry and could help with…
New Low-Cost Nuclear Reactor Barrier Could’ve Withstood Chernobyl and Fukushima
In the aftermath of the notorious accidents in the history of nuclear energy at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011), where all…
North Korean Nuke Equivalent to ‘17 Hiroshimas’ According to Space-Based Radar
North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2003. It subsequently developed nuclear weapons, with five underground nuclear tests culminating…
Physicists Get Closer to Solving the Proton Radius Puzzle With Unique New Measurement
Physicists get closer to solving the proton radius puzzle with unique new measurement of the charge radius of the proton. New measurement yields smaller proton…
Testing Potential Materials for Use in Interplanetary Travel With Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
If humankind reaches Mars this century, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed experiment testing advanced materials for spacecraft may play a key role. NASA is considering…