Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research.
Civilian nuclear power supplied 2,586 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2019, equivalent to about 10% of global electricity generation, and was the second-largest low-carbon power source after hydroelectricity. As of January 2021, there are 442 civilian fission reactors in the world, with a combined electrical capacity of 392 gigawatt (GW). There are also 53 nuclear power reactors under construction and 98 reactors planned, with a combined capacity of 60 GW and 103 GW, respectively. The United States has the largest fleet of nuclear reactors, generating over 800 TWh zero-emissions electricity per year with an average capacity factor of 92%. Most reactors under construction are generation III reactors in Asia.
Nuclear power has one of the lowest levels of fatalities per unit of energy generated compared to other energy sources. Coal, petroleum, natural gas and hydroelectricity each have caused more fatalities per unit of energy due to air pollution and accidents. Since its commercialization in the 1970s, nuclear power has prevented about 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths and the emission of about 64 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent that would have otherwise resulted from the burning of fossil fuels.
Accidents in nuclear power plants include the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union in 1986, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, and the more contained Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979.
There is a debate about nuclear power. Proponents, such as the World Nuclear Association and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy, contend that nuclear power is a safe, sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions. Nuclear power opponents, such as Greenpeace and NIRS, contend that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment.
Hello everyone,
I'm looking for a senior design project idea that incorporates nuclear science/engineering with the technology used in renewable energy engineering.
My partner and I have found the idea of betavoltaics but doubt we'd have the required beta sources available in our labs.
The...
Homework Statement
Two quarks of the same mass m, interact via the confining potential V=kr
-Use the Bohr model to find V,R,E of the bound system
-Determine the angular frequency of the emitted radiation by transition from n => w (??)
-For mc^2 = 2 Gev and K = .5GeV per ?? what are the values...
I sincerely hope that the LHC people are measuring the real thing and not a leak of uranium somewhere.
This is the plot of nuclear yields for spontaneous fission, extracted from wikipedia. The horizontal axis is atomic mass number and we can use 1 amu = 931.49 GeV. Some of you can remember that...
I was wondering if protons exchange strong nuclear interaction/force with other protons or do protons exchange strong nuclear interaction/force with just neutrons OR do all protons and neutrons exchange strong nuclear interaction/force with all protons and neutrons. Protons exchanging strong...
I finished my bachelors in electronics and communication in 2014 from India. Since then I have worked as an Application Engineer in the VLSI domain at a reputed company. I would like to transition to Nuclear Fusion Physics. I am planning to give my Physics GRE in October 2015.
Some background...
I'm currently a Nuclear engineering student in the US. I'm at the point where I need to begin doing research and am torn between the radiation health side of things and the energy side. I honestly love both so I came here to ask a few questions to help determine my research choice. Also I know...
I am trying to grasp the basics of Nuclear weapons and how they work, I understand the fission and fusion principles, but I am struggling with a basic question...Radiation. I am by no means a physicist nor an educated chap so please go easy on me.
If it takes a tiny amount of Plutonium or...
My physics SATII book states that this is not an example of nuclear fusion: 4/2 He + 27/13 Al ⇒30/15 P +1/0 n
If this isn't fusion then what is it?
(The top number of the division is the mass; the bottom is the atomic number)
I am a sophomore (2nd year) at Idaho State University and am considering doing a minor in either Physics or Math, but I have not decided. I received a 3.55 GPA my first year. I want to attend graduate school after my B.A. and eventually pursue a P.h.D. I am interested in nuclear power in...
Approximately, what is the total mass of these materials that is contained in a "typical" Gen III or III+ PWR (e.g., EPR, AP1000...)?
1/ Zr alloy (fuel cladding and other assembly components)?
2/ Ag-In-Cd alloy (control rods)?
3/ Gd (burnable neutron absorber)?
4/ Ni-based alloys?
5/ Stainless...
I am currently studying in msc applied physics ..now from here I want to make my career as j.r.f or r.a. in institute like d.r.d.o , prl ahmedabad. If I clear the exam like ugc net jrf then does it mean that I am equally eligible for certain post as compared to pure physics students in real life...
What do you know and think about the state of power in general in the United States (for example the coal industry)?
What do you know and think about the state of nuclear power in the United States?
Do you think there should be more or less support for it and why?
How dangerous is a nuclear...
When experimenting with fusion, why do we always go so big and make extremely expensive reactors that take years to create and even construct facilities for? I've seen some failed attempts at making fusion happen in carbon nanotubes, failing in the sense that the carbon nanotubes are just...
I am quoting from wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endomembrane_system
"In eukaryotes the organelles of the endomembrane system include: the nuclear membrane, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, vesicles, endosomes and the cell membrane."
From this question arises...
Let's say we have a transition from ##J^P = \dfrac{1}{2}^+## to something like ##J^P = \dfrac{5}{2}^+##. It radiates a photon with some energy ##E_\gamma##. How does one know the parity of said photon? How does conservation of parity work here?
(I have searched the forums, but I could not find a very similar discussion to this.)
I am just starting my B.S. in Physics, and I am very excited! My end goal is to get a degree in Medical Physics, but I just started brainstorming and researching other options. Is a conventional B.S. in...
Schrödinger equation for N-particles is:
U_{System Potential Energy}(r_1,r_2,r_3,...,r_n,t)-\sum_{n=1}^{n_{max}}(\sum_{d=0}^{d_{max}}(\frac{d^2Ψ(r_1,r_2,r_3,...,r_n,t)}{dx_n^2})*\frac{ħ^2}{m_n})=i*ħ \frac{dΨ(r_1,r_2,r_3,...,r_n,t)}{dt}
Where \sum_{d=0}^{d_{max}} is summation over dimensions...
Greetings
I am not a physicist myself, so please forgive me, if my question/proposition will sound naif.
I noticed some articles about accelerating electrons using laser and glass gratings:
http://phys.org/news/2013-09-chip.html
http://phys.org/news/2013-10-particles-compact-particle.html
I...
There are a lot of nuclear power plants around the world that have smoke stacks, the kind you'd usually see at a coal fired power plant. Are they to release steam in an emergency, or are they some kind of exhaust system the plant uses, or something else? Most nuclear power plants in America have...
Hi There!
i am little bit confused in between existence of strong and weak nuclear force, can someone please explain about these forces and about their existence
Homework Statement
A singly ionized atom exhibits hyperfine structure in a ##^3P_1 \rightarrow ^3S_1## transition. Assuming ##I## is greater than ##J## and given that the ##^3S_1## levels are split by ##66~GHz## and ##54~GHz##, find the nuclear spin ##I##.
Homework Equations
E_{HFS} =...
Hi, I am currently trying to decide between a master in nuclear or mechanical engineering. I did my BS in mechanical engineering.
If I dicide in a MS in nuclear engineering I am planning in focusing in the development of better and safer fission reactors and later on doing a PhD in fussion. I...
According to the experimental curve of Binding Energy per nucleon vs Mass no. , we have come to know that heavier nuclei having less B.E. are fissionable. We have also learned from Neutron vs Proton curve that those nuclei having N/P>1 can show radioactivity. But my question is why not all heavy...
Dear PF Forum,
I'm just wondering about P+P reaction in star.
Because of its pressure, in the core of the star, hydrogens fuse to become deuterium.
Its the complete reaction
P + P -> D
D + P -> He3
He3 + He3 -> He3 + P + P
and if the star is big enough, it can undergo CNO cycle,
But what if...
Hello to all of you!
This is my first post on this forum, though I have visited this site many times to learn from its wealth of information and insights. A bit about me, I just finished the second year of my undergraduate career and am looking forward to beginning my upper level physics...
Does anyone know the title of this nuclear movie where the president was told to commit suicide in a graveyard with pistol in front but it was empty and nuclear detonation occurred just the same. I've been searching for it for a year and couldn't track the title. In that movie, you can see...
Hello, my name is Alexander Radchik and I have always wanted to be an atomic play boy.
Given the lack of easily obtainable fissile material I have had humble myself to the theoretical use bombs for things that make sense. Regarding my query, I have 2 questions.
1) could a reusable nuclear...
Homework Statement
the radius from the symmetry to center of the plasma is about 6.2 metres and the minor radius is 2 metres
Homework Equations
Can you guys help me to make the plasma geometry for MCNP?
The Attempt at a Solution
the softcode of plasma geometry
I was reading my textbook, Power Generation, Operation, and Control, third edition, and was thinking of the possibility of supplying peak load using a nuclear fission reactor. The reasoning behind my interest is that to supply the grid with nuclear energy at anywhere near 100% from nuclear you...
I just returned to college to finish my degree in Physics! My advisor and I have been talking about how by the Spring semester, I should have a general idea about which track to go in the Physics program.
My options are the pure physics track or the nuclear physics track. We've gone over the...
Dear PF Forum,
In previous thread, I am asking about fusion power.
But there is one thing that intriguing me.
This is one of the reactions that produces tritium.
n + _3^6Li -> _2^4He + _1^3H + 4.8 Mev
What is this reaction called?
1. Fusion? If yes, why it's called fusion?
2. Fission?
3. Other...
Can a black hole at the singularity break the strong nuclear force between two or more quarks creating a free quark? May be a dumb question but I'm no physicist.
I am done with the first year calculus and physics courses and I think maybe I should be going on one subject to improve in that field. What actually is in my mind is I want to learn about a subject in graduate level then go on on this topic in my physics career. I am interested in the...
It's known that the nuclear reaction rate (inside a Star) can be determined with
$$R_{ab}=n_a n_b\left<\sigma v\right> \, \approx \, n_a n_b \Big(\frac{8}{\pi m_e}\Big)^{1/2} \frac{S(E_0)}{(k_BT)^{3/2}} \Delta \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2} e^{-3E_0/k_BT},$$
where ##k_B## is Boltzmann constant, ##T##...
In nuclear physics we have talked about the liquid drop model and the fermi gas model. My question is can a Fermi liquid and a Fermi gas be directly described using these models? Are they the same thing?
i.e. If I wanted to decribe the difference between a fermi gas and a fermi liquid could I...
I am currently in Grade 10 in Australia and wish to pursue a career as a Nuclear Engineer. And unfortunately, there are no universities in Australia that offer Nuclear Engineering as a degree. Instead, I would have to obtain a degree in any other form of engineering (Mechanical) or science...
Homework Statement
Use the shell model to determine the parity and spin assignments for all the stable isotopes of calcium.
Homework Equations
n/a
The Attempt at a Solution
The stable isotopes seem to be 40Ca, 42Ca, 43Ca, 44Ca, 46Ca, and 48Ca
I believe all of those isotopes except 43Ca are...
Hi pf,
Please could someone kindly answer a few questions about proton spin in the context of MRI. As I understand it when an external static magnetic field is applied to a patient the magnetic dipole moments of the protons in the hydrogen nuclei will experience a torque causing them to align...
I'm sorry for posting this another thread, but I accidentally posted under to wrong forum initially and could not figure out how to delete it :-(1. Homework Statement
Find the missing isotope: Iodine-127 (n, alpha)
My answer is Sb- 122 but it was wrong.
Also, how would I go about finding the...
Hello everyone,
I need some continuous-energy neutron cross sections libraries in ACE format for MCNP5 (endf66a, endf66b, endf66c, misc5xs) as well as the continuous-energy photon tables (mcplib, mcplib02, mcplib03, mcplib04).
Here: http://www.oecd-nea.org/janisweb/search/endf , we have...
Hey guys, wasn't too sure where I should post this but here goes:
Im currently taking a grade 11 introductory physics course in Ontario, Canada. We are currently learning the basics of nuclear physics. For most units, I'm able to foresee the thinking (hard) questions our teachers usually point...
Homework Statement
(a) What processes changes atomic number by 1? What are the favourable conditions? How do you tell a neutrino is involved? How can we use this to understand the mass of this particle?
(b) Use semi empirical mass formula to explain why odd-odd isobars are unlikely, while...
I know that nuclear engineering requires some quantum mechanics but I want to know how much. Are there any textbooks that can fulfill the requirements for quantum mechanics in terms of nuclear engineering? I have heard of this book and I am a fan of old fashioned...
I'm doing a paper on the strong nuclear force for a nuclear physics class. I want to give a good quantitative account for it. I'm very familiar with Lagrangian field theory but not so much with QFT or QCD. I don't have time to learn all of the ins and outs of QFT and for this paper and for this...