Portal:Nuclear technology
The Nuclear Technology Portal
Introduction
- Nuclear technology is technology that involves the nuclear reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear reactors, nuclear medicine and nuclear weapons. It is also used, among other things, in smoke detectors and gun sights. (Full article...)
- Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research. (Full article...)
- A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. (Full article...)
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Among the constituents of spent nuclear fuel, neptunium-237 and plutonium-239 are particularly problematic due to their long half-lives of two million years and 24,000 years, respectively. Handling high-level radioactive waste requires sophisticated treatment processes and long-term strategies such as permanent storage, disposal, or conversion into non-toxic forms to isolate it from the biosphere. Radioactive decay follows the half-life rule, which means that the intensity of radiation decreases over time as the rate of decay is inversely propotional to the duration of decay. In other words, the radiation from a long-lived isotope like iodine-129 will be much less intense than that of short-lived isotope like iodine-131.
Governments worldwide are exploring various disposal strategies, usually focusing on a deep geological repository, though progress in implementing these long-term solutions has been slow. This challenge is exacerbated by the timeframes required for safe decay, ranging from 10,000 to millions of years. Thus, physicist Hannes Alfvén identified the need for stable geological formations and human institutions that can endure for extended periods, noting the absence of any civilization or geological formation that has proven stable for such durations.
The management of radioactive waste not only involves technical and scientific considerations but also raises significant ethical concerns regarding the impacts on future generations. The debate over appropriate management strategies includes arguments for and against the reliance on geochemical simulation models and natural geological barriers to contain radionuclides post-repository closure.
Despite some scientists advocating for the feasibility of relinquishing control over radioactive materials to geohydrologic processes, skepticism remains due to the lack of empirical validation of these models over extensive time periods. Others insist on the necessity of deep geologic repositories in stable formations. Forecasts concerning the health impacts of long-term radioactive waste disposal are critically assessed, with practical studies typically considering only up to 100 years for planning and cost evaluation. Ongoing research continues to inform the long-term behavior of radioactive wastes, influencing management strategies and national policies globally. (Full article...)
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Did you know?
- ... that Project Ketch proposed the detonation of a 24-kiloton nuclear device in Pennsylvania to create a natural-gas storage reservoir?
- ... that after journalist Adele Ferguson's criticism of the U.S. Navy's sex discrimination attracted nationwide attention, she was offered a personal tour of a nuclear submarine?
- ... that before becoming a successful children's author, Myron Levoy was an engineer doing research on nuclear-powered spaceships for a mission to Mars?
- ... that campaigning by climate activist Kimiko Hirata halted plans to build 17 new coal-fired power plants following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan?
- ... that the British Tychon missile was developed from a Barnes Wallis concept to keep strike aircraft safe while dropping nuclear bombs?
- ... that coral cores from Flinders Reef capture environmental changes caused by the use of nuclear weapons?
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A graduate of California Institute of Technology, he earned his doctorate from Princeton University in 1933, and joined the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory where he discovered oxygen-15 and beryllium-10. During World War II, he worked on microwave radar at the MIT Radiation Laboratory, and then on sonar at the Navy Radio and Sound Laboratory. In 1942 he joined the Manhattan Project, the wartime effort to create atomic bombs, and helped establish its Los Alamos Laboratory where the bombs were designed. He led teams working on the gun-type nuclear weapon design, and also participated in the development of the implosion-type nuclear weapon.
McMillan co-invented the synchrotron with Vladimir Veksler, and after the war he returned to the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory to build them. He was appointed associate director of the Radiation Laboratory in 1954 and promoted to deputy director in 1958. He became director upon the death of lab founder Ernest Lawrence later that year, and remained director until his retirement in 1973. (Full article...)
Nuclear technology news
- 25 April 2024 – Russia–NATO relations
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warns that Russia will make NATO nuclear weapons in Poland one of its primary targets if they are deployed there. (The Jerusalem Post)
- 23 April 2024 – North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea claims that it tested a new command-and-control system in a simulated nuclear counterstrike. (CNN)
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