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.
I am not talking about the reactions of simple atoms in chemistry, I am speaking, for example deuterium, heavy water, isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, etc.I would like to know how to calculate when two atoms merge, to know mathematically what atom will form, example deuterium + deuterium =...
The field I am willing to work on is thermal hydraulics, I am more into the industry than academic work. I am now lost . the 2 options I have is either get a masters in nuclear engineering or maybe in mechanical engineering, or go into the industry and work in energy companies " which is hard to...
Hi guys,
we have all heard that the world has enough nuclear weapons do destroy the human kind. But is this true?
I made a small research on wikipedia and it mentions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons
the total available nuclear warheads in the world are at the...
Hi,
I'm simulating in MCNP6 the reaction of proton beam on targets but in the simulation the 96% of the proton are lost for energy cutoff.
I don't understand why happen that. I use a tally4 to obtain the reaction in the target, but I suppose the results are wrong because the lost of protons (if...
Homework Statement
A certain odd-parity shell-model state can hold up to a maximum of 4 nucleons. What are its values of J and L? What about an odd-parity shell-model state with a maximum of 6 nucleons?
Homework Equations
Parity = (-1)L
J = L+S
Total angular momentum, J, is equal to orbital...
NMR textbooks often state that an ensemble of nuclei cannot absorb the excitation radiowaves if the spin population is "saturated" (wherein "saturated" is often described as equal spin population in all energy states, or a population inversion). But these same NMR textbooks show that a 180...
What is the difference between parallel and antiparallel spins for a pair of nucleons?
My understanding is that nucleons have a strong tendency to pair - proton with proton, neutron with neutron, proton with neutron. When they pair their spins either:
cancel (spins pair antiparallel) pairing...
Homework Statement
An antimuon and electron may bind together via Coulomb attraction and then decay, but is the following process possible? (µ+e-) → νe + νµ_bar
*The νµ_bar is the antiparticle of the muon neutrino - the antimuon neutrino
More than one answer (below) may be correct.
a)...
Other than Helium do Noble gases with even nuclear spin form superfluids?
Is there a simple quantum mechanical explanation why the difference below of the Melting point and Boiling point of the Noble gases is roughly the same value? A yes or no would suffice.
From...
(It became really long as I wrote, so I put my main questions at the bottom, so you can skip to it if you want)
Hi guys,
I got BS and MS in Nuclear Engineering. Research for undergrad, I did intern/design class at Argonne running monte-carlo simulation, so modelling neutronics and burnup of a...
Hi all,
I'm looking for a book that talks about civil nuclear technologies (water reactors, molten salt, etc.):
- Either to emphasize the beauty of the technology from an engineering point of view.
- Or the historical development of the technology (in terms of engineering more than politics ...
Zirconium from fission product cannot be safely used as it contains 93Zr which is radioactive. However, zirconium is also used for fuel cladding and building some other parts of a reactor, which is already a radioactive environment thus its own radioactivity is no longer a concern.
So, is it...
Consider chain of two radioactive decays ##A \to B\to C##. The equation that regulates ##N_B## is
$${\frac {\mathrm {d} N_{B}}{\mathrm {d} t}}=-\lambda _{B}N_{B}+\lambda _{A}N_{A}$$
I can't understand why the activity of ##B## is get as ##\lambda_B N_B##, for example at page 20 here...
The average loss of energy in a material per unit length of a particle (in particular an electron, which is stable) is described by the quantity ##dE/dx##.
- for ionization it is given by the Bethe-Bloch formula $$-\left\langle {\frac {dE}{dx}}\right\rangle ={\frac {4\pi }{m_{e}c^{2}}}\cdot...
Consider a proton-neutron system.
Phenomenlogical nucleon-nucleon potentials contain exchange forces terms (Majorana, Bartlett and Heisenberg terms), which are linked to the symmetry of the state w.r.t. (for example) the exchange of isospin (i.e. charge).
On the other hand proton and neutron...
The (residual) strong force between nucleons can be desribed as
- The exchange of a meson (from a nucleon to the other), as in picture b)
- The exchange of a quark and an antiquark: in picture a) one nucleon "gives" a quark and receive an antiquark and it's the opposite for the other
I do...
The potential energy associated to the interaction between nucleons has its minimum (point of equilibrium) at ##r\sim 0.7 fm##, as showed in the following graph:
Nevertheless, there are two facts that are, apparently, in contrast with this:
- The average distance between nucleons is...
In particle phyisics four-momentum is used and De Broglie relation is used to understand what lenghts can be "seen" in an experiment.
Here (page 6) https://people.phys.ethz.ch/~pheno/PPP/PPP2.pdf it is claimed
Where ##Q^2## is not actually "momentum" but its the square of the four momentum...
Greetings to such good forum!
I cannot abandon the Science despite of all my attempts... :D So recently I have started discussion with one Scientifist, on the another forum. The topic of discussion was a role of Mass-Energy-Speed of light formula in development of Nuclear Weapon. I have stated...
Homework Statement
A proton of kinetic energy 0.42 x 10-11 J is fired at a stationary oxygen-18 which has a binding energy of 2.35 x 10-11 J. This reaction produces flourine-18 of binding energy 2.30 x 10-11 J with the production of a neutron and gamma ray.
Q1) Explain why the high energy...
Myself satyabhaskar. I completed my bachelor's degree with 93% and I got 3rd rank in AUCET with the specialization of physics.Now I have a small confusion about which subject i want to choose in msc physics.My main aim is to get a govt job if it is not possible then after i will enter into...
< Mentor Note -- thread moved to HH from the technical physics forums, so no HH Template is shown >
Question:
An experiment is proposed to directly measure the width (Γ) and mass (m_H) of the Higgs boson via the reaction: muon+ + muon- > H.
Sketch a graph of the expected cross section as a...
Hi There!
I am exploring career options in Nuclear Physics, exactly speaking, Theoretical Nuclear Physics. One of the ways to pursue a career in the field is of course in the academia, as a Professor and Researcher. But as we know, sustaining in the academia is not an easy job.
I was wondering...
Homework Statement
The frequency of a tsunami large enough to threaten the safety of a nuclear power plant has been estimated to be 1 in 200 years. If the plant’s life is 65 years what is the probability it will be damaged by such a tsunami? What is this probability more commonly termed?
[2...
Hi, PF, this should be my 5th post or something here in "Academic Guidance" (I changed my mind a lot in few months :biggrin:, but now I really need to decide:nb):nb))
I'm considering to go for an MS in Nuclear Engineering that specializes in Nuclear System Physics...
Hello, can you please confirm this statement "Nuclear fusion does not require a minimum mass to occur (critical mass), which is instead a characteristic limit of fission. So you can make small fusion bombs as much as you want."?
Thanks!
Homework Statement
i have a little confusion with this problem the problem is asking me to calculate
"how long could you fuel the 99 current reactors in the US?"
Homework Equations
The problem is asking for an evaluation of fuel energy value in comparison to demand
edit:(i forgot to add that i...