Fission and Fusion Can Yield Energy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Glossary Physics (I-Introduction)
1 Glossary Physics (I-introduction) - Efficiency: The percent of the work put into a machine that is converted into useful work output; = work done / energy used [-]. = eta In machines: The work output of any machine cannot exceed the work input (<=100%); in an ideal machine, where no energy is transformed into heat: work(input) = work(output), =100%. Energy: The property of a system that enables it to do work. Conservation o. E.: Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it may be transformed from one form into another, but the total amount of energy never changes. Equilibrium: The state of an object when not acted upon by a net force or net torque; an object in equilibrium may be at rest or moving at uniform velocity - not accelerating. Mechanical E.: The state of an object or system of objects for which any impressed forces cancels to zero and no acceleration occurs. Dynamic E.: Object is moving without experiencing acceleration. Static E.: Object is at rest.F Force: The influence that can cause an object to be accelerated or retarded; is always in the direction of the net force, hence a vector quantity; the four elementary forces are: Electromagnetic F.: Is an attraction or repulsion G, gravit. const.6.672E-11[Nm2/kg2] between electric charges: d, distance [m] 2 2 2 2 F = 1/(40) (q1q2/d ) [(CC/m )(Nm /C )] = [N] m,M, mass [kg] Gravitational F.: Is a mutual attraction between all masses: q, charge [As] [C] 2 2 2 2 F = GmM/d [Nm /kg kg 1/m ] = [N] 0, dielectric constant Strong F.: (nuclear force) Acts within the nuclei of atoms: 8.854E-12 [C2/Nm2] [F/m] 2 2 2 2 2 F = 1/(40) (e /d ) [(CC/m )(Nm /C )] = [N] , 3.14 [-] Weak F.: Manifests itself in special reactions among elementary e, 1.60210 E-19 [As] [C] particles, such as the reaction that occur in radioactive decay. -
Tritium Handling and Safe Storage
NOT MEASUREMENT SENSITIVE DOE-HDBK-1129-2007 March 2007 ____________________ DOE HANDBOOK TRITIUM HANDLING AND SAFE STORAGE U.S. Department of Energy AREA SAFT Washington, D.C. 20585 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. DOE-HDBK-1129-2007 This page is intentionally blank. ii DOE-HDBK-1129-2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE FOREWORD............................................................................................................................... vii ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ ix 1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose ...............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Scope ..................................................................................................................................1 1.3 Applicability .........................................................................................................................1 1.4 Referenced Material for Further Information .......................................................................2 2.0 TRITIUM .................................................................................................................................3 2.1 Radioactive Properties ........................................................................................................4 -
Table 2.Iii.1. Fissionable Isotopes1
FISSIONABLE ISOTOPES Charles P. Blair Last revised: 2012 “While several isotopes are theoretically fissionable, RANNSAD defines fissionable isotopes as either uranium-233 or 235; plutonium 238, 239, 240, 241, or 242, or Americium-241. See, Ackerman, Asal, Bale, Blair and Rethemeyer, Anatomizing Radiological and Nuclear Non-State Adversaries: Identifying the Adversary, p. 99-101, footnote #10, TABLE 2.III.1. FISSIONABLE ISOTOPES1 Isotope Availability Possible Fission Bare Critical Weapon-types mass2 Uranium-233 MEDIUM: DOE reportedly stores Gun-type or implosion-type 15 kg more than one metric ton of U- 233.3 Uranium-235 HIGH: As of 2007, 1700 metric Gun-type or implosion-type 50 kg tons of HEU existed globally, in both civilian and military stocks.4 Plutonium- HIGH: A separated global stock of Implosion 10 kg 238 plutonium, both civilian and military, of over 500 tons.5 Implosion 10 kg Plutonium- Produced in military and civilian 239 reactor fuels. Typically, reactor Plutonium- grade plutonium (RGP) consists Implosion 40 kg 240 of roughly 60 percent plutonium- Plutonium- 239, 25 percent plutonium-240, Implosion 10-13 kg nine percent plutonium-241, five 241 percent plutonium-242 and one Plutonium- percent plutonium-2386 (these Implosion 89 -100 kg 242 percentages are influenced by how long the fuel is irradiated in the reactor).7 1 This table is drawn, in part, from Charles P. Blair, “Jihadists and Nuclear Weapons,” in Gary A. Ackerman and Jeremy Tamsett, ed., Jihadists and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Growing Threat (New York: Taylor and Francis, 2009), pp. 196-197. See also, David Albright N 2 “Bare critical mass” refers to the absence of an initiator or a reflector. -
FT/P3-20 Physics and Engineering Basis of Multi-Functional Compact Tokamak Reactor Concept R.M.O
FT/P3-20 Physics and Engineering Basis of Multi-functional Compact Tokamak Reactor Concept R.M.O. Galvão1, G.O. Ludwig2, E. Del Bosco2, M.C.R. Andrade2, Jiangang Li3, Yuanxi Wan3 Yican Wu3, B. McNamara4, P. Edmonds, M. Gryaznevich5, R. Khairutdinov6, V. Lukash6, A. Danilov7, A. Dnestrovskij7 1CBPF/IFUSP, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2Associated Plasma Laboratory, National Space Research Institute, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil, 3Institute of Plasma Physics, CAS, Hefei, 230031, P.R. China, 4Leabrook Computing, Bournemouth, UK, 5EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, UK, 6TRINITI, Troitsk, RF, 7RRC “Kurchatov Institute”, Moscow, RF [email protected] Abstract An important milestone on the Fast Track path to Fusion Power is to demonstrate reliable commercial application of Fusion as soon as possible. Many applications of fusion, other than electricity production, have already been studied in some depth for ITER class facilities. We show that these applications might be usefully realized on a small scale, in a Multi-Functional Compact Tokamak Reactor based on a Spherical Tokamak with similar size, but higher fields and currents than the present experiments NSTX and MAST, where performance has already exceeded expectations. The small power outputs, 20-40MW, permit existing materials and technologies to be used. The analysis of the performance of the compact reactor is based on the solution of the global power balance using empirical scaling laws considering requirements for the minimum necessary fusion power (which is determined by the optimized efficiency of the blanket design), positive power gain and constraints on the wall load. In addition, ASTRA and DINA simulations have been performed for the range of the design parameters. -
Nuclear Energy: Fission and Fusion
CHAPTER 5 NUCLEAR ENERGY: FISSION AND FUSION Many of the technologies that will help us to meet the new air quality standards in America can also help to address climate change. President Bill Clinton 1 Two distinct processes involving the nuclei of atoms can be harnessed, in principle, for energy production: fission—the splitting of a nucleus—and fusion—the joining together of two nuclei. For any given mass or volume of fuel, nuclear processes generate more energy than can be produced through any other fuel-based approach. Another attractive feature of these energy-producing reactions is that they do not produce greenhouse gases (GHG) or other forms of air pollution directly. In the case of nuclear fission—a mature though controversial energy technology—electricity is generated from the energy released when heavy nuclei break apart. In the case of nuclear fusion, much work remains in the quest to sustain the fusion reactions and then to design and build practical fusion power plants. Fusion’s fuel is abundant, namely, light atoms such as the isotopes of hydrogen, and essentially limitless. The most optimistic timetable for fusion development is half a century, because of the extraordinary scientific and engineering challenges involved, but fusion’s benefits are so globally attractive that fusion R&D is an important component of today’s energy R&D portfolio internationally. Fission power currently provides about 17 percent of the world’s electric power. As of December 1996, 442 nuclear power reactors were operating in 30 countries, and 36 more plants were under construction. If fossil plants were used to produce the amount of electricity generated by these nuclear plants, more than an additional 300 million metric tons of carbon would be emitted each year. -
Tritium and Enriched Uranium Management Plan Through 2060
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Tritium And Enriched Uranium Management Plan Through 2060 Report to Congress October 2015 United States Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 Message from the Secretary Please find the Department of Energy's plan for management oftritium and enriched uranium 1 inventories through 2060. This report is being provided to the following Members of Congress: • The Honorable Thad Cochran Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Barbara Mikulski Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Harold Rogers Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Nita M. Lowey Ranking Member, House Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Lamar Alexander Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Senate Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Dianne Feinstein Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Senate Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Mike Simpson Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development House Committee on Appropriations • The Honorable Marcy Kaptur Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development House Committee on Appropriations If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me or Mr. Brad Crowell, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, at (202) 586-5450. Sincerely, 1 In response to Title Ill, Division D, Section 311 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Pub. l. 113-76), and other Congressionalanguage l listed In Appendix B Department of Energy I October 2015 Executive Summary The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) is responsible for a number of national missions that require a reliable supply of Enriched Uranium (EU) to meet our defense and non-defense related missions. -
NUREG-1350, Vol. 31, Information
NRC Figure 31. Moisture Density Guage Bioshield Gauge Surface Detectors Depth Radiation Source GLOSSARY 159 GLOSSARY Glossary (Abbreviations, Definitions, and Illustrations) Advanced reactors Reactors that differ from today’s reactors primarily by their use of inert gases, molten salt mixtures, or liquid metals to cool the reactor core. Advanced reactors can also consider fuel materials and designs that differ radically from today’s enriched-uranium dioxide pellets within zirconium cladding. Agreement State A U.S. State that has signed an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) authorizing the State to regulate certain uses of radioactive materials within the State. Atomic energy The energy that is released through a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay process. One kind of nuclear reaction is fission, which occurs in a nuclear reactor and releases energy, usually in the form of heat and radiation. In a nuclear power plant, this heat is used to boil water to produce steam that can be used to drive large turbines. The turbines drive generators to produce electrical power. NUCLEUS FRAGMENT Nuclear Reaction NUCLEUS NEW NEUTRON NEUTRON Background radiation The natural radiation that is always present in the environment. It includes cosmic radiation that comes from the sun and stars, terrestrial radiation that comes from the Earth, and internal radiation that exists in all living things and enters organisms by ingestion or inhalation. The typical average individual exposure in the United States from natural background sources is about 310 millirem (3.1 millisievert) per year. 160 8 GLOSSARY 8 Boiling-water reactor (BWR) A nuclear reactor in which water is boiled using heat released from fission. -
CHEM 1412. Chapter 21. Nuclear Chemistry (Homework) Ky
CHEM 1412. Chapter 21. Nuclear Chemistry (Homework) Ky Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. ____ 1. Consider the following statements about the nucleus. Which of these statements is false? a. The nucleus is a sizable fraction of the total volume of the atom. b. Neutrons and protons together constitute the nucleus. c. Nearly all the mass of an atom resides in the nucleus. d. The nuclei of all elements have approximately the same density. e. Electrons occupy essentially empty space around the nucleus. ____ 2. A term that is used to describe (only) different nuclear forms of the same element is: a. isotopes b. nucleons c. shells d. nuclei e. nuclides ____ 3. Which statement concerning stable nuclides and/or the "magic numbers" (such as 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 or 128) is false? a. Nuclides with their number of neutrons equal to a "magic number" are especially stable. b. The existence of "magic numbers" suggests an energy level (shell) model for the nucleus. c. Nuclides with the sum of the numbers of their protons and neutrons equal to a "magic number" are especially stable. d. Above atomic number 20, the most stable nuclides have more protons than neutrons. e. Nuclides with their number of protons equal to a "magic number" are especially stable. ____ 4. The difference between the sum of the masses of the electrons, protons and neutrons of an atom (calculated mass) and the actual measured mass of the atom is called the ____. a. isotopic mass b. -
3.Joule's Experiments
The Force of Gravity Creates Energy: The “Work” of James Prescott Joule http://www.bookrags.com/biography/james-prescott-joule-wsd/ James Prescott Joule (1818-1889) was the son of a successful British brewer. He tinkered with the tools of his father’s trade (particularly thermometers), and despite never earning an undergraduate degree, he was able to answer two rather simple questions: 1. Why is the temperature of the water at the bottom of a waterfall higher than the temperature at the top? 2. Why does an electrical current flowing through a conductor raise the temperature of water? In order to adequately investigate these questions on our own, we need to first define “temperature” and “energy.” Second, we should determine how the measurement of temperature can relate to “heat” (as energy). Third, we need to find relationships that might exist between temperature and “mechanical” energy and also between temperature and “electrical” energy. Definitions: Before continuing, please write down what you know about temperature and energy below. If you require more space, use the back. Temperature: Energy: We have used the concept of gravity to show how acceleration of freely falling objects is related mathematically to distance, time, and speed. We have also used the relationship between net force applied through a distance to define “work” in the Harvard Step Test. Now, through the work of Joule, we can equate the concepts of “work” and “energy”: Energy is the capacity of a physical system to do work. Potential energy is “stored” energy, kinetic energy is “moving” energy. One type of potential energy is that induced by the gravitational force between two objects held at a distance (there are other types of potential energy, including electrical, magnetic, chemical, nuclear, etc). -
Nuclear Fusion
Copyright © 2016 by Gerald Black. Published by The Mars Society with permission NUCLEAR FUSION: THE SOLUTION TO THE ENERGY PROBLEM AND TO ADVANCED SPACE PROPULSION Gerald Black Aerospace Engineer (retired, 40+ year career); email: [email protected] Currently Chair of the Ohio Chapter of the Mars Society Presented at Mars Society Annual Convention, Washington DC, September 22, 2016 ABSTRACT Nuclear fusion has long been viewed as a potential solution to the world’s energy needs. However, the government sponsored megaprojects have been floundering. The two multi-billion- dollar flagship programs, the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the National Ignition Facility (NIF), have both experienced years of delays and a several-fold increase in costs. The ITER tokamak design is so large and complex that, even if this approach succeeds, there is doubt that it would be economical. After years of testing at full power, the NIF facility is still far short of achieving its goal of fusion ignition. But hope is not lost. Several private companies have come up with smaller and simpler approaches that show promise. This talk highlights the progress made by one such private company, namely LPPFusion (formerly called Lawrenceville Plasma Physics). LPPFusion is developing focus fusion technology based on the dense plasma focus device and hydrogen-boron 11 fuel. This approach, if it works, would produce a fusion power generator small enough to fit in a truck. This device would produce no radioactivity, there would be no possibility of a meltdown or other safety issues, and it would be more economical than any other source of electricity. -
Consideration of Low Enriched Uranium Space Reactors
AlM Propul~oo aoo Eo«gy Forum 10.25 1416 .20 18~3 Jllly9-11, 2018,0ncinoaoi,Obio 2018 Joi.ot PropuiS;ion Confereoce Chock fof updates Consideration of Low Enriched Uranium Space Reactors David Lee Black, Ph.D. 1 Retired, Formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Washington, DC, 20006. USA The Federal Government (NASA, DOE) has recently shown interest in low enrichment uranium (LEU) reactors for space power and propulsion through its studies at national laboratories and a contract with private industry. Several non-governmental organizations have strongly encouraged this approach for nuclear non-proliferation and safety reasons. All previous efforts have been with highly enriched uranium (HEU) reactors. This study evaluates and compares the effects of changing from HEU reactors with greater than 90% U-235 to LEU with less than 20% U-235. A simple analytic approach was used, the validity of which has been established by comparison with existing test data for graphite fuel only. This study did not include cermet fuel. Four configurations were analyzed: NERVA NRX, LANL's SNRE, LEU, and generic critical HEU and LEU reactors without a reflector. The nuclear criticality multiplication factor, size, weight and system thermodynamic performance were compared, showing the strong dependence on moderator-to-fuel ratio in the reactor. The conclusions are that LEU reactors can be designed to meet mission requirements of lifetime and operability. It ,.;u be larger and heavier by about 4000 lbs than a highly enriched uranium reactor to meet the same requirements. Mission planners should determine the penalty of the added weight on payload. The amount ofU-235 in an HEU core is not significantly greater in an LEU design with equal nuclear requirements. -
Work and Energy Summary Sheet Chapter 6
Work and Energy Summary Sheet Chapter 6 Work: work is done when a force is applied to a mass through a displacement or W=Fd. The force and the displacement must be parallel to one another in order for work to be done. F (N) W =(Fcosθ)d F If the force is not parallel to The area of a force vs. the displacement, then the displacement graph + W component of the force that represents the work θ d (m) is parallel must be found. done by the varying - W d force. Signs and Units for Work Work is a scalar but it can be positive or negative. Units of Work F d W = + (Ex: pitcher throwing ball) 1 N•m = 1 J (Joule) F d W = - (Ex. catcher catching ball) Note: N = kg m/s2 • Work – Energy Principle Hooke’s Law x The work done on an object is equal to its change F = kx in kinetic energy. F F is the applied force. 2 2 x W = ΔEk = ½ mvf – ½ mvi x is the change in length. k is the spring constant. F Energy Defined Units Energy is the ability to do work. Same as work: 1 N•m = 1 J (Joule) Kinetic Energy Potential Energy Potential energy is stored energy due to a system’s shape, position, or Kinetic energy is the energy of state. motion. If a mass has velocity, Gravitational PE Elastic (Spring) PE then it has KE 2 Mass with height Stretch/compress elastic material Ek = ½ mv 2 EG = mgh EE = ½ kx To measure the change in KE Change in E use: G Change in ES 2 2 2 2 ΔEk = ½ mvf – ½ mvi ΔEG = mghf – mghi ΔEE = ½ kxf – ½ kxi Conservation of Energy “The total energy is neither increased nor decreased in any process.