NE 101

Basics of Nuclear Engineering & Technology

Chapter 1:
Introduction
Role of Nuclear Engineering
Dr. Ned Xoubi
‫الدكتور نضال الزعبي‬
Founder of the Nuclear Engineering Department

Fall Semester 2007/ 2008

 Course Topics
1. Introduction / Role of Nuclear Engineering
2. History of Nuclear Energy
3. Atomic Structure
4. Radioactivity
5. Fission Process
6. Nuclear Reactors
7. Radiation Sources and Exposure
8. Non Power Applications of Nuclear Technologies
9. Nuclear Energy and its Roll in Society
10. Nuclear Development in the Arab World
11. National and International Nuclear Laws
12. Nuclear Safety and SecurityNuclear Engineering Department
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 B.Sc. Nuclear Engineering program

Reference Paper:

DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING EDUCATION

IN JORDAN
Xoubi_ IAEA-CN-153-4-P14

www.iaea.org/inisnkm/nkm/documents/nkmCon2007/fulltext/
FP/IAEA-CN-153-4-P-14fp.pdf

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 Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineering
is the engineering discipline
concerned with the application and
utilization of nuclear energy and
radiation.

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 Microscopic to the Gigantic World
This unique engineering
discipline, spans
engineering systems
from the microscopic
world of atoms and
subatomic particles to

the gigantic world of devices

and power systems.
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 Ability to Think
Nuclear engineer must have the
ability to think on both of these
levels, and to switch his thinking
from the subatomic level and
what happened on that level, to
the gigantic level of huge
engineering systems of power
and how both of these worlds
interact and effect each other.

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 The Scope of Nuclear Engineering
Design, analysis, development,
construction, testing, operation
and maintenance of nuclear
fission / fusion systems and
components, specifically,
Nuclear reactors
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear weapons

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 The Scope of Nuclear Engineering
The field extends to the utilization
of radiation in
Manufacturing
Agriculture
Medicine
Biomedical devices
Disposal of HLW

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 CHAPTER 2

History of
Nuclear Energy

Copy rights All rights reserved

© 2007 xoubi
This is unedited copy, please do not copy or circulate

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 History of Nuclear Energy
Four different periods

Before 1939

Nuclear Age

1939 – 1945

1945 – 1980

1980 – 2005

Revival of Nuclear Energy
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 The Discovery Period
 The basics of science and physics of the atom,
atomic radiation, radioactivity, atomic change were
discovered and developed.
 1789 Martin Klaproth discovers Uranium
 1895 Wilhelm Roentgen discovers ionizing
radiation, by producing X-rays.
 1905 Albert Einstein developed his theory of the
relationship between mass and energy
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 Discovery of Neutrons
1931 Harold Urey discovers
deuterium
1932 James Chadwick proves
the existence of neutrons
 1934 Enrico Fermi irradiates
uranium with neutrons. He
believes he has produced the
first transuranic element
Enrico Fermi
(DOE)
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 Nuclear Fission
1938 Otto Hahn and Fritz
Strassmann split the uranium
atom (nuclear fission) by
bombarding it with neutrons
and show that the elements
barium and krypton are formed.
Meitner used Einstein’s theory
to show the lost mass changed
to energy. This proved fission
occurred. Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch
(DOE)
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 Dawn of the Nuclear Age (1939)
 Meitner & Frisch publish
theory of nuclear fission
 Scientists around the world
conduct experiments on
uranium fission
 First US fission experiment Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein
at Columbia University signing a letter to President
 Einstein send a letter to Roosevelt, August 2, 1939.
President Roosevelt
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 The world’s first Reactor
 World's first controlled and
self-sustaining nuclear fission
reaction, on Dec. 2, 1942
 350,000 kg of graphite
 36,588 kg of U oxide
 5,630 kg of U metal
 It cost about $1 million
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 First Atomic Bomb (1945)
 The world's first atomic
bomb test is conducted
in the US, at Alamogordo,
New Mexico, on July 16,
1945, at 5:29:45 AM
 The world had entered
the nuclear age
 The "Gadget" had a yield
equivalent to 19 kilotons Picture: Los Alamos National Laboratory

of TNT.
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 First Atomic Bomb (1945)

Pictures: LANL

Since then 2411 nuclear bombs have been tested

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 US Attack Japan
 The first atomic
bomb against
another nation was
dropped on
Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945. The
uranium bomb,
nicknamed Little
Boy, killed about
140,000 people.
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 US Attack Japan
 An atomic bomb made
out of plutonium and
nicknamed Fat Man
was dropped on
Nagasaki, Japan on
August 9, 1945, killing
about 74,000 people.
are killed.
Smoke over Nagasaki, Japan after
the atomic bomb was dropped

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 Atoms for Peace
 1951 The
Experimental Breeder
Reactor I, produces
the first electric power
from nuclear energy
 1953 US Navy's first
nuclear submarine,
Nautilus, starts its The EBRI Nuclear Reactor In Arco, Idaho
nuclear power units for
the first time.
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 Atoms for Peace
 1951 The
Experimental Breeder
Reactor I, produces
the first electric power
from nuclear energy
 1953 US Navy's first
nuclear submarine,
Nautilus, starts its The EBRI Nuclear Reactor In Arco, Idaho
nuclear power units for
the first time.
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 World’s First Nuclear Power Plant
 1954 The first nuclear
power plant, goes on
line in the Soviet union
on July 27
 The Obninsk plant is a
water cooled graphite
moderated reactor
 Electrical power 5 MW Obninsk nuclear power plant, Russia

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 Nuclear Power Comes to the Arab World
 1955 The Egyptian Atomic Energy
Authority (EAEA) is established
 1957 IAEA is created

 1958 Israel constructs a 26MW,

HW reactor at Dimona
 1959 The first Russian nuclear
icebreaker was put into operation.
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 Nuclear Power Comes to the Arab World
 1960 The first French nuclear
bomb test occurs at Algeria
 1960 Israel RR at Soreq is
commissioned, 5 MW, USA.
 1961 The first Egyptian research
reactor is commissioned.
 First radioisotope-powered remote
weather station installed,
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 Nuclear Power Goes to Space
 1961 The first RTG used in a space mission was
launched
 1965 First nuclear reactor in space (SNAP-10A) is
launched by the US.
 1965 World’s first commercial irradiation plant for
food processing, Canada
 1967 Iraq’s first RR is commissioned, 5MW,
supplied by Russia.
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 Nuclear Power In Space
 1967 Iran’s first RR is
commissioned, 5MW, pool type
water cooled and moderated
reactor
 1969 Nuclear electric power
arrived on the moon for the first
time the SNAP-27 nuclear
generator is deployed on the
lunar

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 Nuclear Power Plant Construction
 Number of NPP that started construction that year

 1967 26  1974 28

 1968 35  1975 33

 1970 37  1976 32

 1972 27  1979 25

 1973 26  1980 20

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 Power Reactors in Operation
 By 1970 81 NPR were in operation – 16 GWe
 1975 167 NPR in operation – 73 GWe
 By 1980 243 NPR were in operation – 137 GWe
 By 1986 390 NPR were in operation – 280 GWe

 1990 419 337 GWe  1999 436 354 GWe

 1995 435 340 GWe  2005 435 370 GWe

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 TMI Accident
 1979 The worst
accident in U.S occurs
at the TMI nuclear
power station,
Pennsylvania
 No one is injured, and
minimal radioactive
material is released

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 Osirak Reactor
 1981 Israeli aircraft
destroys Iraq's Osirak
reactor on June 7
 1981 Libya’s first nuclear
research reactor at Tajoura
begin operation, the reactor
is 10MW, pool type reactor,
supplied by the soviet union

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 Chernobyl
1986
Operator error
causes two
explosions at
the Chernobyl
No. 4 plant
Massive amounts resulting in a
of radioactive reactor
material are meltdown
released  The worst nuclear
accident
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 2006
• 442 nuclear power
plants in operation
with a total net
installed capacity of
369.588 GW(e)
• 28 nuclear power
plants under
construction

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