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Energy as a Consumptive Product
Published in Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis, Power Plant Synthesis, 2020
Nuclear power plants are presented as totally safe from the International Atomic Energy Agency (ΙΑΕΑ), exhibiting the lowest index of accidents compared to any other type of industrial production and any other type of human technological activities. Even if we accept that this statistic is valid, the probability for the event of an accident does not constitute by itself an objective scientific index of safety. The actual parameter that can depict from a technocratic point of view the issue of safety of a technical procedure is the so-called mathematical danger, which, in short terms, is the product of the accident's probability by the accident's expected effects. Defining the real danger with the above approach, it comes that nuclear power plants are the most insecure industrial installations in the modern technical world, of course due to their tremendous and extensive effects on the natural and structural environment.
Energizing and Powering Microsystems
Published in Iniewski Krzysztof, Integrated Microsystems, 2017
In the search for higher energy, nuclear batteries outshine most other technologies, albeit at lower power levels. The heat this technology generates at larger scales can fuel thermoelectric generators for a decade, for example. Similarly, the electrons the decaying isotopes emit at micrometer scales can establish a sufficiently strong electric field (and voltage) across parallel and mechanically compliant piezoelectric plates to attract the charged plates and induce current flow upon contact. The emitted electrons can also generate electron–hole pairs in p–n-junction devices, much like photons in photovoltaic cells. Like their photon counterparts, these β-voltaic batteries enjoy the benefits of chip integration. Atomic energy, however, suffers from safety, containment, and cost concerns that may eventually preclude them from ever entering the marketplace. Still, unequaled energy levels continue to propel research, even if the market hesitates.
Pumping in Nuclear Plants
Published in Maurice L. Adams, Power Plant Centrifugal Pumps, 2017
A nuclear reactor converts atomic energy into heat. Figure 5.1 illustrates the fission atomic process that is utilized in land- and naval-based nuclear-powered systems. A chain reaction from uranium U-235 pellets in the fuel rods is controlled to a steady-state rate of heat production with control rods made of a neutron-absorbing material. Source rods containing neutron sources are used to initiate startup of the reactor. Very high velocity neutrons are slowed in the moderator, converting their kinetic energy into heat. At full extension the adjustable control rods allow just enough free neutrons for the heat production needed to supply the thermal energy utilized to drive the steam turbine at full load. In addition to the heated moderator there must also be a coolant to transfer the heat from the moderator to the steam-producing process that powers the steam turbine-generator. The nuclear reactor system is basically equivalent to the boiler in a fossil burning power plant.
Virtual Reality System for Monte Carlo Transport Simulation Codes Using Web Technology and Commodity Devices
Published in Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2023
In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been developed as a new simulation technology. VR dose assessment systems have been reported6–8 that integrate computer-aided design (CAD) data and radiation transport simulation results. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency built a dedicated VR room to simulate the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 for decommissioning research.9,10 However, these VR systems require complicated CAD files or special hardware that are difficult to introduce. Thus, a new VR system for MC codes was developed to extend the Gxsview code. The system is simple and requires only MCNP/PHITS input files and a commodity personal computer (PC) with VR goggles. In this study, the VR features of the web application update from the previous version11 are described in detail.
Science diplomacy on display: mobile atomic exhibitions in the cold war: Introduction to Special Issue
Published in Annals of Science, 2023
Maria Rentetzi, Donatella Germanese
Already at the end of the nineteenth century, American science institutions started to invest in travelling exhibitions, loan their collections, and use vehicles for transportation. One of the first portable museums was the St. Louis Educational Museum, launched in 1905. However, it was only after the Second World War that exhibitions started to be built inside the vehicles and gained momentum as mediums that extended educational opportunities and made cultural values widely accessible. In 1947, the first mobile exhibition inside a trailer coach was inaugurated in Cleveland, and this was followed by a number of other mobile units around the country, carrying exhibitions installed in busses and trucks.19 The same year a similar mobile initiative came from the British Atomic Scientists Association. Scientists concerned about their public image after the atomic bomb disasters launched an educational campaign in order to legitimize the peaceful uses of atomic energy and fashion themselves as guardians of the international control of atomic energy. The key aspect of the campaign was the Atom Train, a waggon that carried a mobile exhibition on atomic energy.20
Recent Progress on the Structure-Performance Relationship between Diglycolamide Extractants and f-Elements
Published in Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange, 2022
Zhibin Liu, Huibo Li, Yaoyang Liu, Chuang Zhao, Caishan Jiao, Yu Zhou, Meng Zhang, Yang Gao
To cope with the problems of climate change and the shortage of fossil energy, many countries such as China have adopted as policy to develop nuclear power robustly. It was reported by China Atomic Energy Authority that as of Dec 31st 2020, there are a total of 49 nuclear power units in operation, with an installed capacity of 51,027.16 MWe in Mainland China. However, the proper treatment and disposal of nuclear wastes, in particular high level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) generated during spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, has been a challenging issue related to the sustainable development of nuclear power worldwide. As a result, in the 1990s, the strategy of “partitioning and transmutation” (P&T) was proposed for development in China[1,2] This plan envisaged the removal of the minor actinides Np, Am, Cm and long-lived fission product elements such as Cs, Sr, and Tc from HLLW, followed by the nuclear incineration of these radionuclides into short-lived or stable nuclides. Thus, the volume and toxicity of HLLW can be minimized.