Nuclear energy

Definition Nuclear energy is energy released from the nucleus of an atom by the conversion of its mass to energy, consistent with Albert Einsteins formula E=mc in which E = Energy, m = Mass and c = the Constant Speed of Light. Nuclear energy is released by one of three nuclear reactions: (a) (b) (c) Fission: The breaking of the binding forces of an atom's nucleus. Fusion: The fusing together of atomic particles. Decay: Which is the natural and much slower form of Fission.

Nuclear energy was first discovered accidentally by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896 when he found photographic plates stored near aluminum compounds behaved as though they had been exposed to light in a manner similar to the recently discovered X-Ray. During World War II the United States of America used Nuclear energy to power submarines and to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by means of the atomic bomb. After the War, the Nuclear reactor designs of submarines were scaled up to provide electricity and today supply between 2.5% and 6.8% of the World's energy. In order to use Nuclear energy safely, it is necessary to prevent the reactions from overheating, to store the spent fuel for thousands of years in such a way that the radiation is contained and to ensure that radioactive material does not get into the hands of people with malicious intent. Nuclear Reactions The release of nuclear energy is associated with changes from less stable to more stable nuclei and produces far more energy for a given mass of fuel than any other source of energy. In fission processes, a fissionable nucleus absorbs a neutron, becomes unstable, and splits into two nearly equal nuclei. In fusion processes, two nuclei combine to form a single, heavier nucleus. The most stable nucleithose with the highest binding energies per nucleon holding their components togetherare in the middle range of atomic weights, with the maximum stability at weights near 60. Thus, fission, which produces two lighter fragments, occurs for very heavy nuclei, while fusion occurs for the lightest nuclei.

In nuclear physics, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide, to produce products different to the initial products. In principle a reaction can involve more than two particles colliding, but such an event is exceptionally rare. If the particles collide and separate without changing (except possibly in energy levels), the process is called a collision rather than a reaction. Representation : A nuclear reaction can be represented by an equation similar to a chemical equation, and balanced in an analogous manner. Nuclear decays, although not reactions strictly speaking, can be represented in the same way. Each particle taking part in the reaction is written with its chemical symbol, then atomic number subscripted, and atomic mass superscripted. The neutron and electron, not being chemical elements, are given the symbols n and e respectively. The proton may be denoted by "H" (as a hydrogen nucleus) or as "p". To balance the equation, we must ensure that the sum of the atomic numbers on each side of the equations are equal and that the sum of the atomic masses on each side are also equal. For example:
6 3

Li + 21H 42He + ?

Balancing: (a) Atomic masses on the left are 6 and 2, giving 8 total. Therefore another 4 is required on the right side.

(b) Atomic numbers on the left are 3 and 1, giving 4 total. Therefore another 2 is required on the right side. (c) Thus the missing particle has mass 4 and number 2, which means it is also a helium nucleus. The complete reaction is thus:
6 3

Li + 21H 42He + 42He

which could also be written:

6 3

Li + 21H 2 42He

Energy : Energy is usually released during the course of a reaction. This can be calculated by reference to a table of very accurate particle masses, as follows. According to the reference tables, the 63Li nucleus as an atomic weight of 6.015 atomic mass units, the deuteron is 2.014 a.m.u. and the helium nucleus is 4.0026 a.m.u. Thus: (a) Total mass on left side = 6.015 + 2.014 = 8.029. (b) Total mass on right side = 2 4.0026 = 8.0052. (c) Missing mass = 8.029 - 8.0052 = 0.0238 atomic mass units. This "missing" mass comes from energy released from the reaction; its source is the nuclear binding energy. Using Einstein's famous "E=mc2" formula, we can work out how much energy has been released. In fact, one atomic mass unit is equivalent to 931 MeV, so the energy released is 0.0238 931 MeV = 22.4 MeV. Nuclear Fission The process of nuclear fission was discovered in 1938 by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and was explained in early 1939 by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch . Fission is a nuclear process, meaning it occurs in the nucleus of an atom. Fission is when the nucleus splits into two or more smaller nuclei plus some by-products. These by-products include free neutrons and photons (usually gamma rays). Fission releases substantial amounts of energy (the strong nuclear force binding energy). The fissionable isotope of uranium, U-235, can be split by bombarding it with a slow, or thermal, neutron. (Slow neutrons are called thermal because their average kinetic energies are about the same as those of the molecules of air at ordinary temperatures.) The atomic numbers of the nuclei resulting from the fission add up to 92, which is the atomic number of uranium. A number of pairs of product nuclei are possible, with the most frequently produced fragments being krypton and barium. Since this reaction also releases an average of 2.5 neutrons, a chain reaction is possible, provided at least one neutron per fission is captured by another nucleus and causes a second fission. In an atomic bomb, the number is greater than 1 and the

reaction increases rapidly to an explosion. In a nuclear reactor, where the chain reaction is controlled, the number of neutrons producing additional fission must be exactly 1.0 in order to maintain a steady flow of energy. Uranium-235, which occurs naturally as one part in 140 in a natural mixture of uranium isotopes, is not the only material fissionable by thermal neutrons. Uranium233 and plutonium-239 can also be used but must be produced artificially. Uranium233 is produced from thorium-232, which absorbs a neutron and then undergoes beta decay (the loss of an electron). Plutonium-239 is produced in a similar manner from uranium-238, which is the most common isotope of natural uranium. The average energy released by the fission of uranium-235 is 200 million electron volts, and that released by uranium-233 and plutonium-239 is comparable. Fission can also occur spontaneously, but the time required for a heavy nucleus to decay spontaneously by fission (10 million billion years in the case of uranium-238) is so long that induced fission by thermal neutrons is the only practical application of nuclear fission. However, spontaneous fission of uranium can be used in the dating of very old rock samples.

Sketch of induced nuclear fission, a neutron (n) strikes a uranium nucleus, which splits into similar products (F. P.), and releases more neutrons to continue the process, and energy in the form of gamma and other radiation. Fission can be induced by several methods, including bombarding the nucleus of a fissile atom with another particle of the correct energy. Usually the other particle is a free neutron moving at the right speed. This free neutron is absorbed by the nucleus, making the nucleus unstable (much like a greengrocer's pyramid of oranges becomes unstable if someone throws another orange at it at the right speed). The unstable nucleus will then split into two or more pieces. These pieces are known as fission products and include two smaller nuclei, two or three other free neutrons, and some photons. The process releases a lot of energy compared to chemical reactions; the energy is released in the form of both photon radiation (like gamma rays) and in the kinetic energy (energy of motion) of the nuclei and neutrons. A typical energy released by a fission event is approximately 200 MeV.

The atomic nuclei released as fission products are of various chemical elements. Which elements are produced is somewhat random, but each nuclei usually ends up with about half the protons and neutrons of the original fissioned atom. Fission products are usually highly radioactive since these other nuclei are not stable isotopes. These isotopes then decay, releasing gamma rays and beta decay radiation. These highly radioactive fission products (or the waste products of their decay, as many of the initial fission products are highly unstable with very short decay times) become the waste of nuclear energy production. An example of a nuclear fission reaction is as follows: Neutron + U-235 --> fission products + more neutrons + energy Inducing fission : 1. Though fission is most often and most easily initiated by the absorption of a free neutron, it can also be induced by striking a fissionable nucleus with other particles. These other particles can include protons, other nuclei, or even high intensity high-energy photons (gamma rays). 2. Very infrequently, a fissionable nucleus will undergo spontaneous nuclear fission without an incoming neutron. 3. Inducing fission is easiest in heavy elements and generally, the more massive the nucleus the more likely it is able to be fissioned. Fission in any element heavier than iron produces energy, and fission in any element lighter than iron requires energy. The opposite is true of nuclear fusion reactions - fusion in elements lighter than iron produces energy, and fusion in elements heavier than iron requires energy. 4. The most frequently used elements to produce nuclear fission are uranium and plutonium. Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element in any appreciable abundance; plutonium undergoes spontaneous fission reactions and has a relatively short half-life. So, although other elements can be used, these have the best combination of abundance and ease of fission. For further detail, see fissile. Critical mass : When fission events occur in a mass of uranium (or other fissile material), neutrons are released. Some of these neutrons are captured by other uranium nuclei and lead to fission; some will escape the mass or be absorbed by some other kind of nucleus. If the expected number of neutrons which trigger new fissions is less than one, a nuclear chain reaction may occur but the size will decrease exponentially. If the expected number of neutrons is greater than one, the chain reaction will increase exponentially. This situation (expected number of neutrons causing fission is one or more) is called criticality, and the configuration is called a critical mass.

Moderators : Thermal neutrons (that is, slow neutrons) have the highest probability of producing fission of U-235 but the neutrons emitted in the process of fission have high speeds (they are not thermal). It is an oversimplification to say that the chain reaction might maintain itself if more neutrons were created by fission than were absorbed, because the probability both of fission capture and of non-fission capture depends on the speed of the neutrons. Unfortunately, the speed at which non-fission capture is most probable is intermediate between the average speed of neutrons emitted in the fission process and the speed at which fission capture is most probable. For some years before the discovery of fission, the customary way of slowing down neutrons was to cause them to pass through material of low atomic weight, such as hydrogenous material. The process of slowing down or moderation is simply one of elastic collisions between high-speed particles and particles practically at rest. The more nearly identical the masses of neutron and struck particle, the greater the loss of kinetic energy by the neutron. Therefore light elements are most effective as neutron moderators. Nuclear Fusion In physics, nuclear fusion is a process in which two nuclei join, forming a larger nucleus and releasing or absorbing energy. With some exceptions, nuclei lighter than iron release energy when they fuse, while heavier nuclei absorb energy; this is because iron has the largest binding energy. Nuclear fusion of light elements is the energy source which causes stars to shine and hydrogen bombs to explode. Nuclear fusion of heavy elements is part of the process that triggers supernovae. Nuclear fusion, although it was known theoretically in the 1930s as the process by which the sun and most other stars radiate their great output of energy, was not achieved by scientists until the 1950s. Fusion reactions are also known as thermonuclear reactions because the temperatures required to initiate them are more than 1,000,000C. In the hydrogen bomb, such temperatures are provided by the detonation of a fission bomb. The energy released during fusion is even greater than that released during fission. Moreover, the fuel for fusion reactions, isotopes of hydrogen, is readily available in large amounts, and there is no release of radioactive byproducts. For sustained, controlled fusion reactions, a fission bomb obviously cannot be used to trigger the reaction. The difficulties of controlled fusion center on the containment of the nuclear fuel at the extremely high temperatures necessary for fusion for a time long enough to allow the reaction to take place. For deuterium-tritium fusion, this time is about 0.1 sec. At such temperatures the fuel is no longer in one of the ordinary states of matter but is instead a plasma, consisting of a mixture of electrons and charged atoms. Obviously, no solid container could hold such a hot mixture; therefore, containment attempts have been based on the electrical and magnetic properties of plasma, using magnetic fields to form a magnetic bottle.

In 1994 U.S. researchers achieved a fusion reaction that lasted about a second and generated 10.7 million watts, using deuterium and tritium in a magnetically confined plasma. The use of tritium lowers the temperature required and increases the rate of the reaction, but it also increases the release of radioactive neutrons. Another method has used laser beams aimed at tiny pellets of fusion fuel. If practical controlled fusion is achieved, it could have great advantages over fission as a source of energy. Deuterium is relatively easy to obtain, since it constitutes a small percentage of the hydrogen in water and can be separated by electrolysis, in contrast to the complex and expensive methods required to extract uranium-235 from its sources. In 2005 a six-member consortium (China, the European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States) agreed to build an experimental fusion reactor at Cadarache in S France that would use the magnetic bottle approach.

The deuterium-tritium fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. Requirements for fusion : A substantial energy barrier opposes the fusion reaction. The positive electrical charges of the nuclei repel each other via the electrostatic force, attempting to break any nuclei apart. Opposing this is the slightly more powerful strong nuclear force, which tries to hold them together. It is the tension between these two powerful forces that makes nuclear reactions so powerful. The strong force only operates over short distances. When a nucleon (proton or neutron) is added to a nucleus, it is attracted by the strong force to other nucleons, but only to those in direct contact. The nucleons in the interior have neighbors on all sides, but those on the surface only have neighbors on one side. Since smaller nuclei have a larger surface to volume ratio, the binding energy per nucleon due to the strong force increases with size up to a limit.

The electrostatic force, on the other hand, is an inverse-square force, so a proton added to a nucleus will feel an electrostatic repulsion from all the other protons in the nucleus. The electrostatic energy per nucleon due to the electrostatic force thus increases without limit, as the nuclei get larger. The net result of these opposing forces is that the binding energy per nucleon generally increases with increasing size, namely up to the element iron, and then starts decreasing again. Eventually, at the element uranium, the binding energy becomes negative and the nuclei are no longer stable. A notable exception to this trend is the element helium, whose nucleus consists of two protons and two neutrons. In a sense, protons and neutrons are two states of a single particle, and each of these states can have spin up or spin down. Consequently, all the nucleons in a helium nucleus can be in the ground state, making it extremely tightly bound. If any nucleons are added, they have to go into a higher energy state due to the Pauli exclusion principle. The situation is similar if two nuclei are brought together. As they approach each other, all the protons in one nucleus repel all the protons in the other. Not until the two nuclei actually come in contact can the strong nuclear force take over. Consequently, even when the final energy state is lower, there is a large energy barrier that must first be overcome. In chemistry, one would speak of the activation energy. In nuclear physics it is called the Coulomb barrier. The Coulomb barrier is smallest for isotopes of hydrogen, since they contain only a single positive charge in the nucleus. Since a bi-proton is not stable, neutrons must also be involved, ideally in such a way that a helium nucleus, with its extremely tight binding, is one of the products. In the D-T fuel, the resulting energy barrier is about 0.1 MeV. In comparison, the energy needed to remove an electron from hydrogen is 13 eV, about 7,500 times less energy. Once the fusion reaction is complete, the new nucleus drops to a lower-energy configuration and gives up additional energy by ejecting a neutron with 17.59 MeV, considerably more than what was needed to fuse them in the first place. This means that the D-T fusion reaction is very highly exothermic, making it a powerful energy source. If the energy to initiate the reaction comes from accelerating one of the nuclei, the process is called beam-target fusion, if both nuclei are accelerated, it is beam-beam fusion. If the nuclei are part of a plasma near thermal equilibrium, one speaks of thermonuclear fusion. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles, so by heating the nuclei they will gain energy and eventually have enough to overcome this 0.1 MeV barrier. Converting the units between eV and kelvins shows that the barrier would be overcome at a temperature in excess of 1 GK, obviously a very high temperature.

Not many reactions meet these criteria. The most interesting reactions are the following. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) D D D T 3He 3He D p 3He p + + + + + + + + + + T D 3He T 3He T 6Li 6Li 6Li 11B 4He (3.5 MeV) T (1.01 MeV) 4He (3.6 MeV) 4He 4He 4He 2 4He + 22.4 MeV 4He (1.7 MeV) 2 4He 3 4He + 8.7 MeV + n + p + p +2 n +2 p + p + + (14.1 MeV) (3.02 MeV) (14.7 MeV) + 11.3 MeV + 12.9 MeV + n + 12.1 MeV

3He (2.3 MeV) p + 16.9 MeV

Applications & Challenges of Nuclear Energy 1. Medical Applications : Nuclear processes have an amazingly diverse range of applications, perhaps the most important being in medicine, where over 1/3 of all procedures in the United States use nuclear techniques. Nuclear processes are used to provide images inside the human body, to detect and measure biochemical processes, and to provide therapy. A major event in 2000 was the FDA approval of the first Monte-Carlo code for use by doctors to design radiation therapy for cancer. Based on nuclear reactor design methods, this new tool now allows doctors to take detailed magnetic resonance imaging data (another nuclear technique) and predict with great accuracy how to deposit precisely enough radiation to kill cancer tumors without damaging surrounding tissue. Previous crude calculation methods often forced doctors to cause damage to substantial amounts of healthy tissue, or to miss completely killing tumors. Students in the bionuclear program in NE learn how the principles of engineering physics can be applied to imaging and therapy. 2. Fission Energy : The vision of fission energy is compelling. In the last two decades it has become the world's largest single source of emission-free energy, and it creates a waste stream sufficiently small and compact that we can conceive of isolating this waste permanently from the environment. For fission to provide more energy in the future, our grand challenge is to continue to improve the safety, economic performance, waste minimization, and proliferation resistance of fission power plants. The U.S. has 103 nuclear power plants providing over 20 % of its electricity; worldwide the number is 433. These plants have helped stabilize electricity costs, particularly with the recent volatility of natural gas prices. Our nuclear plants reduce substantially the amount of carbon dioxide that worldwide electricity use releases to the atmosphere. Nuclear fission is the only non-fossil energy source that has been demonstrated at large scale, and that could be expanded substantially further. Nuclear's current contribution is sufficiently large that in 1999 just the increases in the

operating capacity of existing U.S. nuclear power plants from improving equipment reliability accounted for over half of all carbon-dioxide reductions reported by the U.S. electrical industry. 3. Fusion Energy : The development of economic fusion energy systems is one of Nuclear Engineering's greatest grand challenges, since such power sources would fundamentally alter the way that humankind interacts with its environment, to the benefit of both humans and nature. In a well-designed fusion power plant, burning one ounce of fusion fuel, plentifully available, makes as much energy as burning 300 tons of coal while making a negligible amount of waste. Worldwide progress toward fusion has been steady and impressive. In the last decade, we have seen magnetic fusion experiments create over 13 million watts of fusion power. In the coming decade, we expect to see the new National Ignition Facility use inertial confinement to ignite fusion fuel, and for the first time reach the fusion conditions needed in an actual inertial fusion power plant. 4. Radioactive Waste Management : Another grand challenge problem that our graduates work on is developing systems for the safe and permanent disposal of radioactive waste. The most significant milestone in this field occurred recently with the opening of WIPP, the world's first geologic repository. Located 1/2 mile underground in a 250-million-year-old salt formation in New Mexico, WIPP began emplacing waste contaminated with radioactive transuranic elements in 1999. The Yucca Mountain Project is now working toward submission of a license application in 2002 to develop a repository for commercial spent fuel and high level waste from early U.S. military activities. Against this backdrop, extensive international research continues to improve models for the transport of radionuclides from geologic repositories, with active participation by the U.C. Berkeley, Nuclear Research Laboratory. The primary concern for repositories is the long-term potential for the contamination of groundwater in areas near the repository, making it unsuitable for use by future generations. Besides improving models for transport in natural systems, efforts also focus on improving the quality of the engineered barriers that contain the waste, so that multiple barriers can reduce further the probability of radionuclide release.