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Nuclear Fission Power Plants

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Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology

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Definition of the Subject

Nuclear fission power plants – or nuclear power reactors – are the instruments for commercial use of nuclear energy, relying on a sustained neutron chain reaction from the fission process. Nuclear fission – splitting of heavy-metal nuclei, most importantly 235U and 239Pu – produces an enormous amount of energy.

Fission was discovered in 1938 on the eve of World War II. The magnitude of the energy release was recognized immediately. However, it was not until after the attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941 that the USA began serious efforts to develop this energy source for military purposes. Germany conducted research along these same lines but ultimately was unsuccessful in development efforts.

The USA’s ensuing “Manhattan Project” [1] included monumental basic research, development of nuclear reactors for research and nuclear-material production, design of nuclear explosives, and ultimately testing of a nuclear explosive device and development of the two...

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Abbreviations

Blanket :

Region surrounding the fuel core of a breeder reactor that contains fertile material to increase production of new fuel.

Brayton cycle :

Method used to transfer fission heat energy to gas (e.g., helium or superheated carbon dioxide) for use in a gas turbine to generate electricity.

Breeder :

Reactor that produces new fuel from fertile material at a faster rate than it burns fuel for energy production.

Converter :

Reactor that produces less new fuel from fertile material than it burns for energy production.

Coolant :

Liquid or gaseous medium used to remove fission heat from a reactor core.

Core :

Region within a reactor occupied by the nuclear fuel that supports the fission chain reaction.

Critical :

Condition where a fission chain reaction is stable with neutron production balancing losses at a nonzero power level.

Electron volt (eV) :

1 eV is the kinetic energy obtained by an electron moving across 1 V of electric potential 1 eV = 1.602 × 10−19 J. Common multiples are 1 keV = 1,000 eV and 1 MeV = 106 eV. Neutron energies from less than an eV through about 10 MeV are important in nuclear fission power plants.

Fast neutrons :

Neutrons of high energy, particularly those produced directly by the fission reaction (∼0.1–10 MeV).

Fertile :

Material, not itself fissile, capable of being converted to fissile material following absorption of a neutron.

Fissile :

Material capable of sustaining a fission chain reaction.

Fission :

Process in which a heavy-metal nucleus splits into two or more large fragments, releases energy, and emits neutrons and gamma radiation.

Fissionable :

Nuclei capable of fission by neutrons and of participation in a fission chain reaction (category includes fissile nuclides).

Isotopes :

Different nuclides of the same chemical element, e.g., 235U and 238U are two of the isotopes of uranium.

Moderator :

Material of low atomic mass included in a reactor for the purpose of reducing the kinetic energy of neutrons.

Multiplication factor :

Ratio of neutron production rate to neutron loss rate value is unity for a critical system.

Nuclide :

Atomic nucleus with a specified number of neutrons and protons, e.g., the 23592 U nuclide has atomic mass number 235, 92 protons (atomic number), and 235−92 = 143 neutrons.

Reactivity :

Fractional change in neutron multiplication referenced to the critical condition value is zero for a critical system.

Reactor :

Combination of fissile and other materials in a geometric arrangement designed to support a neutron chain reaction.

Steam cycle :

Method used to convert fission heat energy to steam that drives a turbo-generator, thus, generating electricity.

Thermal neutrons :

Low-energy neutrons at or near thermal equilibrium with their surroundings produced by slowing down or moderating the fast neutrons produced by fission (Equilibrium thermal energy, e.g., is 0.25-eV at 20 °C).

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  1. Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM, 87185-1141, USA

    Ronald Allen Knief

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  1. Ramtech Ltd., Larkspur, California, USA

    Robert A. Meyers

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Knief, R.A. (2016). Nuclear Fission Power Plants. In: Meyers, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_22-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_22-3

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