Nuclear engineering

“Nuclear engineering is an endeavor that makes use of radiation and radioactive material for the benefit of mankind.”[1]: 1  Perhaps its most prominent application is in power generation. Wordwide, 440 nuclear reactors, in 32 countries, generate 10 percent of the world's energy through nuclear fission. [2] In the future, it is expected that nuclear fusion will add another means of generating energy.[3] Both reactions make use of the nuclear binding energy released when atomic nucleons are either separated (fission) or brought together (fusion). The energy available is given by the binding energy curve, and the amount generated is much greater than that generated through chemical reactions. Fission of 1 gram of uranium yields as much energy as burning 3 tons of coal or 600 gallons of fuel oil,[4] without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.[5]

Nuclear engineers work in such areas as the following:[6]

Nuclear engineering also plays an important role in such diverse as space exploration, criminal investigation[7], and agriculture.[8]

History

An argument can be made that nuclear engineering was born in 1938, with the discovery of nuclear fission.[9] However, from the engineering perspective of applying science to create something new, a more fitting beginning might be 1942, when Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) began operating at the University of Chicago as a part of the Manhattan Project. The first artifical nuclear reactor, CP-1 was designed by a team of physicists who were concerned that Nazi Germany might also be seeking to build a bomb based on nuclear fission. (The earliest known nuclear reaction on Earth occurred naturally, 1.7 billion years ago, in Oklo, Gabon, Africa.) The second artifical nuclear reactor, the X-10 Graphite Reactor was also a part of the Manhatten Project, as were the plutonium-producing reactors of the Hanford Engineer Works.

The first nuclear reactor to generate electricity was Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I), which did so near Arco, Idaho, in 1951.[10] EBR-I was a standalone facility, not connected to a grid, but a later Idaho research reactor in the BORAX series did briefly supply power to the town of Arco in 1955.

The first commercial nuclear power plant, built to be connected to an electrical grid, appears to be the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, which began operation in 1954. The second appears to be the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, which produced electricity in 1957. See List of Commercial Nuclear Reactors for a comprehnsive listing of the rest.

Professional areas

Nuclear engineers in this field generally work, directly or indirectly, in the nuclear power industry or for national laboratories.[11] Current research in the industry is directed at producing economical and proliferation-resistant reactor designs with passive safety features. Some government (national) labs provide research in the same areas as private industry and in other areas such as nuclear fuels and nuclear fuel cycles, advanced reactor designs, and nuclear weapon design and maintenance. A principal pipeline/source of trained personnel (both military and civilian) for US reactor facilities is the US Navy Nuclear Power Program, including its Nuclear Power School in South Carolina. Employment in nuclear engineering is predicted to grow about nine percent in the year 2022 as needed to replace retiring nuclear engineers, provide maintenance and updating of safety systems in power plants, and to advance the applications of nuclear medicine.[12][13][14]

  • Nuclear powerplant
    Nuclear powerplant
  • B-61 thermonuclear weapon
    B-61 thermonuclear weapon

Nuclear medicine and medical physics

Medical physics is an important field of nuclear medicine; its sub-fields include nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, health physics, and diagnostic imaging.[15] Highly specialized and intricately operating equipment, including x-ray machines, MRI and PET scanners and many other devices provide most of modern medicine's diagnostic capability—along with disclosing subtle treatment options.[16][17]

  • X-Ray image of a male skull
    X-Ray image of a male skull
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan of a human head
    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan of a human head
  • PET scan taken with an ECAT Exact HR+PET scanner
    PET scan taken with an ECAT Exact HR+PET scanner

Nuclear materials

Nuclear materials research focuses on two main subject areas, nuclear fuels and irradiation-induced modification of nuclear materials. Improvement of nuclear fuels is crucial for obtaining increased efficiency from nuclear reactors. Irradiation effects studies have many purposes, including studying structural changes to reactor components and studying nano-modification of metals using ion-beams or particle accelerators.[18]

Radiation protection and measurement

Radiation measurement is fundamental to the science and practice of radiation protection, sometimes known as radiological protection, which is the protection of people and the environment from the harmful effects of uncontrolled radiation.[19]

Nuclear engineers and radiological scientists are interested in developing more advanced ionizing radiation measurement and detection systems, and using these advances to improve imaging technologies; these areas include detector design, fabrication and analysis, measurements of fundamental atomic and nuclear parameters, and radiation imaging systems, among others.

Nuclear engineering schools and training

TBA

Nuclear engineering organizations

See also

References
  1. Lamarsh and Baratta (2001). Introduction to Nuclear Engineering. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0201824981.
  2. "Nuclear Power in the World Today". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. Thompson, Jess. "When Can We Expect Nuclear Fusion?". Newsweek. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  4. "Nuclear Fission Energy". Lawrence Livermore. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. "Nuclear power and the environment". EIA. U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. Martin and Bornstein. "Nuclear Engineering". Britannica. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  7. "Nuclear Techniques Help to Solve Crimes". EIA. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  8. "5 Incredible Ways Nuclear Powers Our Lives". Energy.gov. US Department of Energy. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. "The Discovery of Fission". The Manhattan Project: an interactive history. US Department of Energy. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  10. "The World's First Nuclear Power Plant". Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. US Department of Energy. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. "Nuclear engineer job profile | Prospects.ac.uk". www.prospects.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  12. "Nuclear Engineers – Job Outlook" in Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014–15. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
  13. "Nuclear Engineers: Jobs, Career, Salary and Education Information". collegegrad.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  14. "Nuclear Engineer Job Description, Career as a Nuclear Engineer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job". careers.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  15. Medical Physicist. American Association of Physicists in Medicine
  16. "Physicist - Careers in Nuclear Medicine - SNMMI". www.snmmi.org. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  17. "Human Health Campus - Dosimetry and Medical Physics". humanhealth.iaea.org. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  18. "Nuclear Materials". U.S.N.R.C. 2019-01-05.
  19. Valentin, J. (2005-01-07). "Protecting people against radiation exposure in the event of a radiological attack". Annals of the ICRP. 35 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1016/j.icrp.2005.01.002. ISSN 0146-6453.

Further reading
  • Ash, Milton, "Nuclear reactor kinetics", McGraw-Hill, (1965)
  • Gowing, Margaret. Britain and Atomic Energy, 1939–1945 (1964).
  • Gowing, Margaret, and Lorna Arnold. Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, Vol. I: Policy Making, 1945–52; Vol. II: Policy Execution, 1945–52 (London, 1974)
  • Johnston, Sean F. "Creating a Canadian Profession: The Nuclear Engineer, 1940–68," Canadian Journal of History, Winter 2009, Vol. 44 Issue 3, pp 435–466
  • Johnston, Sean F. "Implanting a discipline: the academic trajectory of nuclear engineering in the USA and UK," Minerva, 47 (2009), pp. 51–73
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