Binding

energy curve

Fission

Nuclear 0ission
Fission happens when a heavy atomic nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei The nucleus is deeply divided into two large ssion fragments of roughly equal mass The mass decrease (and hence the energy released, Q) is appreciable Other neutrons are emi?ed in the process (called ssion neutrons)
235 92

U+ n

1 0

144 56

Ba + Kr + 2 n + Q

90 36

1 0

Chain reac4on: ssion neutrons produce further ssion

Nuclear 0ission
235 92

U+ n

1 0

144 56

Ba + Kr + 2 n + Q

90 36

1 0

235 92

U+ n

1 0

142 56

Ba + Kr + 3 n + Q

91 36

1 0

235 92 235 92

93 U + 01n 140Cs + 37 Rb + 3 01n + Q 55

72 U + 01n 160 Sm + 30 Zn + 4 01n + Q 62

Example
EsCmate the energy released (in Joules) by the ssion of 1g of U-235 according to the equaCon
235 92

U+ n

1 0

144 56

Ba + Kr + 2 n + Q

90 36

1 0

atomic masses:
235 92

U = 235.04438u

144 56

Ba = 143.92279u
1 0

90 36

Kr = 89.92089 u

n = 1.00866 u

Avogadros number: 6.023 x 1023 1u = 931 MeV 1MeV = 1.6 10-13 J

Controlling chain reactions

Cri4cal mass: the minimum mass of fuel required to produce a self-sustaining chain reacCon Chain reacCons can be controlled by inserCng absorber (control) rods into the Uranium These rods contain elements such as Boron or Cadmium which can absorb many neutrons without ssioning themselves
10 5

B + n Li + He + 2.8MeV

1 0

7 3

4 3

Absorber rods can be liXed to speed up chain reacCons or can be lowered to decrease the reacCon rate or stop the reacCons

Nuclear reactors
First nuclear reactor built in 1942 Fuel used was natural Uranium (contains less than 1% U-235) Slow neutrons are be?er at producing ssion Many nuclear reactors use enriched Uranium
the presence of the U-235 isotope has been arCcially increased

Control rods regulate the heat output of the reactor Water is used to prevent overheaCng OverheaCng would result in a Uranium meltdown

Nuclear reactors
The reactor works by turning water into steam The steam drives a turbine which spins a generator to produce power Reactors housed in thick layer of concrete which acts as a radiaCon shield The concrete layer lies inside a steel container which provides extra shielding and prevents leakage of radioacCve waste A strong outer concrete building serves as a nal layer

Charnobyl disaster (April 1986)

Despite warnings from the InternaConal Atomic Energy Agency that the protecCve measures were not strict enough, the Soviet Union did not take acCon remedy this There were no suciently secure secondary containment faciliCes There was also a problem with the design of the control rods

Fukushima 2011
Earthquake and resulCng tsunami seriously damaged the nuclear plant Water was drained from the reactor core which made it impossible to control core temperatures Resulted in a parCal meltdown Tepco admi?ed for the rst Cme on October 12, 2012 that it had failed to take stronger measures to prevent disasters for fear of inviCng lawsuits or protests against its nuclear plants In 2013 the World Health OrganizaCon indicated that the residents of the area were exposed to so li?le radiaCon that it probably won't be detectable. They indicated that a Japanese baby's cancer lifeCme risk would increase by about 1%

Pros and Cons of nuclear power

Pros:
doesnt depend on fossil fuel Does not emit CO2 so does not contribute to climate change ssion produces a million Cmes more energy per unit weight than fossil fuel alternaCves

Cons:
Costly to construct and maintain faciliCes Once fuel is used it is sCll radioacCve (radioacCve waste) Waste remains radioacCve for thousands of years

Nuclear fusion
Fusion takes place when two lighter nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus Energy is released in the process Fusion can only happen at very high energies
2 1

H + H He + n + Q
3 2

2 1

3 2

1 0

Fusion

atomic masses 1 2 H = 2.015u 0 n = 1.009u 1

He = 3.017u

Fusion inside the Sun

Solar energy is produced by fusion at the core of the Sun Temperatures of ~108 K are reached Atoms are stripped of electrons (hot plasma state) Nuclei have very high energies and can overcome Coulomb forces Fusion takes place Thermonuclear reacCons:

1 1

p + p H + + + 0.4MeV
2 1

1 1

2 1

0 +1

H + H He + n + 3.7MeV
3 2

2 1

3 2

1 0

He + He He + 2 p +12.9MeV

3 2

4 2

1 1

Example
What is the minimum speed required for protons to achieve fusion? Assume that the energy required is 0.4MeV. Use the kineCc theory of gases (Nmv2/3=RT) to get an esCmate of the temperature required to achieve such speeds. Use the following informaCon mass of proton = 10-27kg 1MeV = 1.6 10-13J mass of 1 mole of protons is approximately 0.001kg molar gas constant R = 8.3J mol-1 K-1

Fusion reactors
The main diculty with gelng fusion reactors to work is achieving the enormous temperatures required 2 3 4 1 D-T reacCon: H + H He + n +17.6MeV 1 1 2 0 At such high temperatures Hydrogen is in hot plasma form The plasma is conned using two types of reactors:
MagneCc connement
plasma conned inside reactor by a magneCc eld (e.g.JET, TFTR)

JET

Fusion reactors
The main diculty with gelng fusion reactors to work is achieving the enormous temperatures required 2 3 4 1 D-T reacCon: H + H He + n +17.6MeV 1 1 2 0 At such high temperatures Hydrogen is in hot plasma form The plasma is conned using two types of reactors:
MagneCc connement
plasma conned inside reactor by a magneCc eld (e.g.TFTR)

InerCal connement reactors

heat and compress conned fuel using laser-light extreme heaCng up and compression can ignite fusion

Example
Show that the energy released in the D-T reacCon is 17.6MeV [Assume 1u=931MeV and use the following atomic masses:]
2 1

H = 2.01410u

3 1

H = 3.01605u

4 2

He = 4.00260u

1 0

n = 1.00867u

Advantages of Fusion power

No carbon emissions. The only by-products of fusion reacCons are small amounts of helium, which is an inert gas that will not add to atmospheric polluCon Abundant fuels. Deuterium can be extracted from water and triCum is produced from lithium, which is found in the earth's crust. Fuel supplies will therefore last for millions of years Energy eciency. One kilogram of fusion fuel can provide the same amount of energy as 10 million kilograms of fossil fuel No long-lived radioac4ve waste. Only plant components become radioacCve and these will be safe to recycle or dispose of convenConally within 100 years Safety. The small amounts of fuel used in fusion devices (about the weight of a postage stamp at any one Cme) means that a large-scale nuclear accident is not possible Reliable power. Fusion power plants should provide a baseload supply of large amounts of electricity, at costs that are esCmated to be broadly similar to other energy sources

Progress in fusion research

The experimental faciliCes have achieved sustainable results JET has produced 16 megawa?s of fusion power and proved the technical feasibility of fusion using deuterium and triCum The next step is proving it can work on a power plant scale but may take several more decades The main problems are the extreme condiCons required for sustainable reacCons and large scale plasma connement

The A-Bomb
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima (6 Aug 1945) and Nagasaki (9 Aug 1945)

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

90,000166,000 people died in Hiroshima 60,00080,000 in Nagasaki Most were civilians Hiroshima was it necessary? h?p://www.doug-long.com/

The A-Bomb
li?le boy fat man

Li?le Boy (Hiroshima bomb) was a gun-type ssion bomb made using U-235 Fat Man (Nagasaki bomb) was an implosion-triggered ssion type bomb using Pu-239 Gun-type:
Fuel masses subcriCcal and kept separate Brought together forcefully supercriCcal mass If brought together slowly, the iniCal explosion will push them apart and the explosion will zzle

The A-Bomb
li?le boy fat man

Li?le Boy (Hiroshima bomb) was a gun-type ssion bomb made using U-235 Fat Man (Nagasaki bomb) was an implosion-triggered ssion type bomb using Pu-239 Implosion:
Fuel mass subcriCcal and kept at the core Surrounded with chemical explosives Chemical explosion compresses core core supercriCcal

Fusion bombs (H-bomb)

ssion used to trigger fusion of heavy Hydrogen fusion releases large numbers of neutrons these can be used to make a more violent explosion by surrounding the bomb with a layer of natural Uranium ssion drives fusion which drives further ssion about 1000 Cmes more destrucCve than A-bombs Energy released:
blast and shock (50%) thermal radiaCon (35%) immediate nuclear radiaCon (10%) residual nuclear radiaCon (15%)

EMP generation
High-alCtude nuclear explosions will generate EMP gamma-rays ionize atoms in the atmosphere resulCng high-energy free electrons spiral down the magneCc eld lines of the earth give rise to a rapidly rising radiated electromagneCc eld called an electromagne4c pulse induce very high currents in electronic components loss of power

 Oppenheimer:
aXer WW2 strongly lobbied for internaConal control of nuclear power used inuence to try to avert nuclear arms race with Russia had his security clearance revoked

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his mulC-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.

 Bohr:
was not directly involved in the making of the bomb but was invited as an advisor oXen expressed social concern about such weapons and an eventual nuclear arms race believed atomic secrets should be shared by the internaConal scienCc community conCnued to work for internaConal control of nuclear weapons unCl his death in 1962

 Einstein:
was a pacist supported but did not take part in the Mahna?an project hoped that the bomb would not be used unless absolutely necessary gave all the energies not spent on his scienCc work to campaigns for peace
'I loathe all armies and any kind of violence; yet I'm rmly convinced that at present these hateful weapons oer the only eecCve protecCon.' Should Nazi militarism prevail, 'you can be sure that the last remnants of personal freedom in Europe will be destroyed'. We have learned, and paid an awful price to learn, that living and working together can be done in one way only - under law. Unless it prevails, and unless by common struggle we are capable of new ways of thinking, mankind is doomed.

To Do
Read chapter 30 [p.614-634 Nuclear Energy] Assignment wk10: Prac4cal DC3 Homework: 27.14, 29.5, 30.3, 30.7, 30.11, 31.7 Hand it in no later than 4:00pm next Wednesday - LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED