NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Nuclear material

Nuclear material consists of materials used in nuclear systems, such as nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Most commonly this refers to special nuclear material (SNM) as defined in the United States Atomic Energy Act. Special nuclear materials are plutonium, uranium-233 and enriched uranium-235. These materials can potentially be used for nuclear weapons. Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... Special nuclear material is a term used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States to classify fissile materials. ... Almost a year after World War II ended, Congress established the United States Atomic Energy Commission to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... Uranium-233 is a fissile artificial isotope of uranium, which is proposed as a nuclear fuel. ... Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium that differs from the elements other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction. ...

Categories: Nuclear materials | Nuclear weapons // Tube Alloys was the code-name for the British nuclear weapon programme during World War II, when the very possibility of nuclear weapons was kept at such a high level of secrecy that it had to be referred to by code even in the highest circles of government. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nuclear engineering is the practical application of the atomic nucleus gleaned from principles of nuclear physics and the interaction between radiation and matter. ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant An induced nuclear fission event. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ... Radiation in physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles. ... Radiation hazard symbol. ... A semi-accurate depiction of the helium atom. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... Nuclear safety is a term which underscores and understates the danger implicit in the use of nuclear materials, and may be used to describe measures taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents. ... Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive nuclear energy, by analogy to chemical fuel that is burned to derive energy. ... Fertile material is a term used to describe nuclides which generally themselves do not undergo induced fission (fissionable by thermal neutrons) but from which fissile material is generated by neutron absorption and subsequent nuclei conversions. ... General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 232. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Atomic mass 238. ... // Enriched uranium is uranium whose uranium-235 content has been increased through the process of isotope separation. ... Depleted uranium storage yard. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... A nuclear power station. ... A nuclear power station. ... An illustration showing the various sources of nuclear waste Radioactive waste is waste type containing radioactive chemical elements that does not have a practical purpose. ... The Sun is a natural fusion reactor. ... Future energy development faces great challenges due to an increasing world population, demands for higher standards of living, demands for less pollution and a much-discussed end to fossil fuels. ... An Inertial fusion power plant is intended to industrially produce electric power by use of inertial confinement fusion techniques. ... Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are generation II nuclear power reactors that use water under high pressure as coolant and neutron moderator. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Generation IV reactors (Gen IV) are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. ... The fast breeder or fast breeder reactor (FBR) is a fast neutron reactor designed to breed fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes. ... A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons. ... Schematic diagram of a Magnox nuclear reactor showing gas flow. ... Schematic diagram of the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor. ... The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) system is a Generation IV reactor that features a fast-neutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides. ... A molten salt reactor is a type of nuclear reactor where the working fluid is a molten salt. ... A Liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor is nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid molten metal. ... The Lead-cooled Fast Reactor is a Generation IV reactor that features a fast-spectrum lead or lead/bismuth eutectic liquid metal-cooled reactor with a closed fuel cycle. ... The Sodium-cooled fast reactor is a sodium cooled reactor that uses fast neutrons. ... Supercritical water reactor scheme. ... Very high temperature reactor scheme. ... The pebble bed reactor (PBR) or pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) is an advanced nuclear reactor design. ... The Integral Fast Reactor or Advanced Liquid-Metal Reactor was a design for a nuclear reactor with a specialized nuclear fuel cycle. ... Nuclear propulsion can include a wide variety of methods, the commonality of which is the use of some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. ... In a nuclear thermal rocket a working fluid, usually hydrogen, is heated in a high temperature nuclear reactor, and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. ... // A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a simple electrical generator which obtains its power from radioactive decay. ... Bone scintigraphy of a young woman. ... Image of a typical positron emission tomography (PET) facility Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine medical imaging technique which produces a three dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. ... Clinac 2100 C100 accelerator Radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells (not to be confused with radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis). ... Radiosurgery is a medical procedure which allows non-invasive brain surgery, i. ... Proton therapy is a kind of external beam radiotherapy where protons are directed to a tumor site. ... Brachytherapy for prostate cancer is administered using seeds, small radioactive rods implanted directly into the tumour. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... A nuclear fireball lights up the night in a United States nuclear test. ... The Titan II ICBM carried a 9 Mt W53 warhead, making it one of the most powerful nuclear weapons fielded by the United States during the Cold War. ... US and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945-2005. ... The first nuclear weapons, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, provided the basic design building blocks of all future weapons. ... A 23 kiloton tower shot called BADGER, fired on April 18, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear test series. ... Preparation for an underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site in the 1980s. ... // Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its intended target. ... World map with nuclear weapons development status represented by color. ... This is a list of states with nuclear weapons. ... Main article: Nuclear testing The following is a list of nuclear test series designations, organized first by country and then by date. ...