Nuclear Definition and 997 Threads

EE, and life-long science explorer and tinkerer. I look forward to reading the forum, and hopefully contributing at some point. This looks like a great forum! If we weren't limited to 5 tags here, these would have been mine: physics (duh!), relativity, nuclear, antennas, time, radio...

Hello, I am interested in getting into low-energy experimental nuclear physics. I have studied quantum mechanics and a few introductory nuclear science textbooks (e.g. Shultis + Faw: Introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering). I found the textbook Theoretical Nuclear Physics by Blatt...

Hi , in the classical course " nuclear reactor theory we treated neutrons as particles. can we treat neutrons as waves when it comes to diffusion or transport equation ? neutrons flux/ cross-sections ? I googled it and I didn't find enough info. Like there a lot of common terms between quantum...

Some experts claim that the technology to create pure fusion bombs already exists, although the resulting device wouldn't result in any real advantages over conventional explosives (source). Deuterium and tritium are also considered the most likely fuels for a fusion reactor. The deuterium...

I am trying to understand the fixed cost of a nuclear power plant relative to variable cost. By fixed cost I mean "cost that does not vary with the amount of the power outputted over a given time period." By variable cost I mean "cost items that vary with the amount of the power outputted...

Hi. I'm a physics student in Italy. Within a year I hope to have gotten my three years degree. Usually, after that, physics students continue studying in their field choosing among theoretical, astrophysics, particle, nuclear, etc... Starting from next year we have the opportunity to move to...

Does anyone have some good recommendations for basic nuclear physics books? I'm not particularly fussed about the detailed maths at the moment but I'm mostly searching for books on neutron radiation and the interaction of different neutron temperatures with different materials. Also anything on...

Pardon my ignorance, but why would nuclear energy be better option, I hear a lot of fears from the general public of why it is not safe? How would someone convince someones fear about the safety of nuclear power, considering what happened in Japan? cheers,

Does anyone have any good recommendations for some introductory books on nuclear fusion that I can read from my phone?

I have heard that the probability of an unstable nucleus decaying is always constant. Is there any way to change this probability?

I am interested in whether it might be possible to select a more efficient heat expansion media for nuclear power plants than water, which has a very specific heat and a very high heat of vaporization. The high value of the specific heat and the heat of vaporization of water requires much...

Hi, I have learned that, in a nuclear fission or an alpha decay, the available energy released is the difference of masses between the initial nuclide (+ eventually some other initial particles) and the output particles, times c^2 (as E = mc^2). I'm fine with that. But I wonder : what about...

Is α-decay same as nuclear fission? What is the difference?

It is my understanding there are two alternative paths to a bomb, one which the North Koreans have possessed for over 30+ years which is a graphite moderated natural uranium fuel reactor. A 3rd path is the possibility of doping Thorium to produce short lived 233-protactinium and separate this...

So, I have a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications (outside of US) and I wanted to pursue work in nuclear fusion so I had applied for an MS in nuclear engineering in the US. I have gotten admission in the University of Florida. Anyway, I was sharing this information elsewhere on...

There seems to be a lot of conflicting research on nuclear winter theory, especially since the 1990s. Carl Sagan famously predicted that the Kuwaiti oil well fires from Operation Desert Storm would result in a small global winter, but the effects turned out to be more localized and less severe...

Hi! I have a question about nuclear fission. Here is the problem: 238_U (B/A = 7.6 MeV/n) is divided into two 119_Pd ( B/A = 8.5 MeV/n). How much energy will be released? I was thinking since the 119_Pd has larger B/A (binding energy per nucleus), energy is needed for this reaction to happen...

I am applying for master's degree programme in Nuclear Engineering for this year and considering universities from the following countries: Russia, Korea, Japan, China I have a B.Sc. (Hons) in Nuclear Science degree which I've got it in 2009. Could anyone recommend me any good graduate school...

Looking at the Wikipedia page for the Lande g-factor, I'm a bit confused. I thought that g_I\approx5.585, that of the proton, but then there is the line saying that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%C3%A9_g-factor It makes sense that the nuclear and Bohr magnetons would differ by the mass...

Pronouncing a nuclear reaction like as "one,zero,neutron + 235,92,uranium yields 141,56,barium + 92,36,krypton + 3,1,0,neutron" is awkward. How is it pronounced by physicists in practice?

I had read a few helpful forums on the pros and cons of going for a masters vs. phd in nuclear engineering. However, I am still confused about one thing. I am considering pursuing a career in reactor design (fission or fusion, will likely make another post to discuss this). Here are my...

I'm new to this so please correct me if I'm doing this wrong. I'm curious to know about what practical uses are there for nuclear fusion other than a green power source.? I've already seen a few readings and a video from a Michel fellow about how it works, and it's fascinating stuff I'm not much...

Are anti-nucs dancing in the streets? Westinghouse the nuclear power branch of Toshiba has filed for bankruptcy leaving two unfinished power plants in the US and propose projects in the UK and India in limbo...

What is the nuclear binding energy of N-14 in joules per mole of nuclei? The mass deficit is 0.11278. Atomic mass is 14.00307. Total mass is 14.11585. I keep getting stuck after converting and substituting it into the equation. First I converted the mass deficit into kilograms. 0.11278 =1.1278 ×...

http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/249809/why-only-light-nuclei-are-able-to-undergo-nuclear-fusion-not-heavy-nuclei Can anyone please explain me - what is similar between Nuclear fission & Nuclear fusion? Why are only light nuclei able to undergo nuclear fusion, not heavy nuclei? I am a...

Is the atomic number and mass number conserved in nuclear decays?

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was located 12 miles north of St. Helens, Oregon. St. Helens, Oregon, is only 39 miles away from Mount St. Helens, which had a major volcanic eruption in 1980. The heaviest ash fell to the northwest of the volcano in Washington and to some extents Idaho, which...

Hi all, I would like to know what's the kind of work a mechanical engineer has to perform when being part of the team encharged of building a fusion or a generic nuclear reactor. I find many areas in mechanical engineering attractive, but I believe that fusion reactors have great potential in...

I have read an article talking about material research in fusion. One part in the context is divided into three aspects about the material capable of using in a fusion power reactor. Material selection in the first wall and plasma-facing components are two of the aspects. But it does not mention...

I think I got this right, I just want a second opinion to know if my concepts are correct 1. Homework Statement 20Na decays to an excited state of 20Ne through the emission of positrons of maximum kinetic energy 5.55 MeV. The excited state decays by ##\alpha## emission to the ground state of...

I browsed this forum a while ago and saw that several people recommend Lamarsh's Introduction to Nuclear Engineering as an intro to this field. I have read about half of this book and really don't like it. Some of the equations are derived in confusing/roundabout ways. For example, many formulas...

Homework Statement In an experiment carried out with a beam of thermal neutrons it is found that on traversing a 2mm thick foil of 197Au, some 70% of the neutrons are removed. What is the total thermal neutron cross-section for this isotope of gold? Comment on the result of the cross-section...

How should I go about using equation 8.18? Link can be found below. In the book, an example is used where Th-220 --> C-12 + Po-208 with a Q value of 32.1 MeV is used, and it is said to yield t1/2 = 2.3x106 but for the life of me I cannot reproduce this result. This is what I did: Going from...

Nuclear reactors are licensed with a fixed service life in all countries. This is despite the fact that reactors have widely varying ages (some plants have taken decades to complete), varying use cycles (not all plants run at 90%+ capacity factor, some are even mothballed), and undergo power...

Homework Statement Hello guys, I was using mcnp code SERPENT, and while defining materials i encountered a problem. The problem is that for example: if I'm given that i have a 3.5 percent enriched U-235. how do i find the rest of the mass percents of U-234, U-238, O2. Now since i know mass...

Homework Statement Using the Semi-empirical Mass Formula show that for fixed odd atomic mass number, A, the most stable isobar has a neutron to proton ratio given by N/Z = 1 + aCA2/3/(2aA) Homework Equations B(A,Z) = aV A − aS A2/3 − aCZ2A-1/3 − aA(Z − N)2/A + pairing term The Attempt at a...

how do we cope with leakage of nuclear reactors as happened at Chernobyl and Fukushima plan

I showed beta decay in decay mode of Nuclear chart..but I couldn't find what is the meaning if IT 100%..

Nuclei of unstable isotopes spontaneously fission in a way that is measured in half-life. So for a particular nucleus at a given time, it is a probability of some amount, thus is a QM fluctuation? Then what is going on in reactors which in effect modify the nucleus half life by introducing extra...

I was researching on radioactive elements and found out that polonium is the most radioactive element and the most radioactive isotope of polonium (out of 33!) is polonium 210. So I was wondering why it isn't used in nuclear plants and bombs. I know that if a slow neutron was to hit uranium 235...

Hi everyone! I'm an italian undergraduate in physics and one of my course is called "Basics of Energy Physics". For the exam you have to write a brief composition based on one of the topic of the course. I've chosen the nuclear energy, because this will probably be my main interest in my post...

There is an episode of Star Trek where Kirk and Spock use a mortar with a nuclear explosive head against an alien threat. At the time I had thought that it was an interesting device, but completely futuristic. But, as I have learned, it does seem that in this instance, Star Trek had copied from...

Hi guys. I am a mechanical engineering student working on finishing my junior year. I have always been interested in nuclear engineering (and slightly regret not doing my undergrad in it) and am looking to obtain a master's in it and go work. I am in the U.S. so there are plenty of really good...

There are approximately 15 000 nuclear weapons on the planet. The largest one as far as I am aware is the Tsar Bomba, which packs a punch of (rounding here) 100 megatons of TNT. So if all of them were Tsar Bombas, we'd be looking at 15 000*100 megatons TNT = 1 500 000 000 000 tons TNT. Source...

good morning, I'd like to know if exsists a classical explanation and, of course, qualitative about the nuclear fission / fusion reactions. I would like to explain the development of external energy to considering only nuclear forces system in terms of internal mechanical energy and the fact...

I have a glass of water at room temperature. The electromagnetic force is at play between the electrons and nucleus of the atoms, the strong nuclear force is at play holding the nucleus together, the force of gravity weak as it may be is at play between the various particles - electrons, quarks...

Hi, is it hard to study Neutron diffusion / nuclear theory from Introduction og nuclear engineering Lamarsh without a teacher ? , noticing that I will be taking Nuclear theory course on the next semester.

Hello Let's suppose a beta-decay. The mother nucleus is dM heavier than the daughter nucleus. What happen if the excitation energy does not match any combination of excited states in the daughter nucleus? Example: the daughter nucleus has 100keV of excitation energy, but the first exited...

I can't really explain my query fully in the space of a title but after hearing an explanation about how nuclear bombs work there is one thing I don't understand - the fissile material is in the centre, around that is the neutron deflector and around that the conventional explosives (this is...

Fusion energy is very efficient and clean,but it's very hard to achieve it.That's why I think that instead of wasting energy on starting the fusion reaction we could use nuclear fission to start the fusion reaction. It's a simple concept:just let more neutrons in the fission reaction. This will...