Nuclear Engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with a system under nuclear reaction.
Subject of interest[]
Following are the main subjects of interest to a nuclear engineer.
Reactor physics[]
Reactor physics deal with the behavior of neutron, gamma ray inside of a nuclear reactor.
Fission[]
Fission of a fissile material such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239 produce 2 or 3 fast neutrons and several gamma rays. The fast neutron either loses its energy by scattering, absorbed by a nuclide. Scattered neutrons will either escape the system or undergo another cycle of collision. Absorbed neutron will either transmute the nuclide to another nuclide or make a fission. The average number of neutrons invoking a fission among the neutron produced from a fission should be exactly one, to produce energy stability.
Main interests of reactor physics are the criticality and the power distribution.
Thermal hydraulics[]
Thermal hydraulics deals with the heat removal from a nuclear reactor. The heat generated at a nuclear fuel are transferred to a coolant.
The interest of thermal hydraulics is to keep the material temperature inside of a nuclear reactor below the limiting one during operation as well as possible accident.
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