Nuclear

Energy
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 We get ENERGY from three of the 4
fundamental forces:
Gravity, electromagnetic, nuclear
strong
The stronger the force, the more
energy you get for the amount of fuel
used.

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 Example: Requirements for a 1,000
MW power plant
[1] A hydroelectric plant requires
60,000 tons of water per second.
[2] A coal-burning plant needs
150 truckloads per day
[3] A nuclear plant requires about
3 truckloads per year!

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 Destructive power:

[1] Small towns have been leveled by

floods and landslides.
[2] The same size town could be leveled
by 1,000 tons of chemical explosives.
[3] Hiroshima (quarter of a million
people) was destroyed by releasing the
energy in 40 kg of Uranium

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 We know the least about
the strong nuclear force.

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Processes of Nuclear Energy
Fission

A nucleus of large
mass number splits
into two smaller
nuclei
Fusion

Two light nuclei fuse
to form a heavier
nucleus
Large amounts of
energy are released in
either case

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 Nuclear Fission and Fusion Energetics

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Nuclear Fission

A heavy nucleus splits into two smaller

nuclei
The total mass of the products is less than
the original mass of the heavy nucleus
First observed in 1939 by Otto Hahn and
Fritz Strassman following basic studies by
Fermi
Lisa Meitner and Otto Frisch soon
explained what had happened

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 Fission: When a single nucleus
splits to form two smaller nuclei.

Large nucleus
Two smaller nuclei

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 Fission of 235U by a slow (low energy) neutron

1
0 n 235
92 U 236
92 U* X Y neutrons
236
U* is an intermediate, short-lived state

X and Y are called fission fragments
Many combinations of X and Y satisfy the
requirements of conservation of energy
and charge

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Sequence of Events in Fission

The 235U nucleus captures a thermal (slow-moving) neutron

This capture results in the formation of 236U*, and the excess
energy of this nucleus causes it to undergo violent oscillations
The 236U* nucleus becomes highly elongated, and the force of
repulsion between the protons tends to increase the distortion
The nucleus splits into two fragments, emitting several
neutrons in the process
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Energy in a Fission Process
Binding energy for heavy nuclei is about 7.2
MeV per nucleon
Binding energy for intermediate nuclei is
about 8.2 MeV per nucleon
Therefore, the fission fragments have less
mass than the nucleons in the original
nuclei
This decrease in mass per nucleon appears
as released energy in the fission event

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An estimate of the
energy released
Assume a total of 240
nucleons
8.5 MeV 7.6 MeV
Total energy released is
~ 200 MeV/fission
This is very large
compared to the
amount of energy
released in chemical
processes

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 QUICK Problem

In the first atomic bomb, the energy

released was equivalent to about 30
kilotons of TNT, where a ton of TNT
releases an energy of 4.0 109 J. The
amount of mass converted into energy
in this event is nearest to:
(a) 1 g (b) 1 mg
(c) 1 g (d) 1 kg (e) 20 kilotons

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 (c). The total energy released was E =
(30 103 ton)(4.0 109 J/ton) =
1.2 1014 J. The mass
equivalent of this quantity of energy is:

E 1.2 10 J 14
3
m 2 1.3 10 kg ~ 1g
c (3.0 10 m/s)
8 2

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Chain Reaction
Neutrons are emitted when 235U
undergoes fission
These neutrons are then available to
trigger fission in other nuclei
This process is called a chain reaction

If uncontrolled, a violent explosion can occur

The principle behind the nuclear bomb,
where 1 g of U can release energy equal to
about 20 000 tons of TNT

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 Nuclear fission:
A large nucleus splits into
several small nuclei when
impacted by a neutron,
and energy is released in
this process

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 Example fission reaction
1 235 236 141 92
0 n 92 U 92 U 56 Ba 36 Kr
3 1
0n

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 Others:

1
0 n 235
92 U 236
92 U 140
54 Xe 94
38 Sr 2
1
0 n

1
0 n 235
92 U 236
92 U 132
50 Sn 101
42 Mo 3
1
0 n

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 Energy (MeV) distribution in
fission reactions
Kinetic energy of fission fragments 167 MeV
Prompt (< 106 s) gamma ( ) ray energy 8
Kinetic energy of fission neutrons 8
Gamma ( ) ray energy from fission products 7
Beta ( ) decay energy of fission products 7
Energy as antineutrinos () 7

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 A Nuclear Sunset

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Nuclear Reactor

A nuclear reactor is a system designed to

maintain a self-sustained chain reaction
The reproduction constant, K, is defined as
the average number of neutrons from each
fission event that will cause another fission
event
The maximum value of K from uranium fission is
2.5
In practice, K is less than this
A self-sustained reaction has K = 1

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 General Fission Reactor Design
Heat is removed from the nuclear reactor by a circulating coolant
hot coolant is used to boil water, making steam
steam drives a turbo generator to make electricity

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 Basic Reactor Design
Fuel elements consist of enriched
uranium
The moderator material helps to slow
down the neutrons
The control rods absorb neutrons
When K = 1, the reactor is said to be
critical

The chain reaction is self-
sustaining
When K < 1, the reactor is said to be
subcritical

The reaction dies out
When K > 1, the reactor is said to be
supercritical

A run-away chain reaction occurs

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About 1 billion consumers around the world depend on nuclear
electricity for some of their power needs
World consumption of electricity is expected to double over the
next 30 years - will the role of nuclear power increase or decrease?

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Three main types of ionizing
radiation
1. Alpha particles - (helium nucleus)
can be shielded by a sheet of paper or
by human skin. If inhaled or ingested
they can be very harmful

2. Beta particles are not stopped by a

sheet of paper,but can be stopped by
a thicker shield like wood. Beta
particles can cause serious damage to
your health if ingested
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 3. Gamma rays are the most
penetrating and they penetrate paper,
skin, wood, and other substances. A
shield at least as thick as a concrete
wall is required. This type of radiation
causes severe damage to your internal
organs

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 RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Materials which are radioactive

and for which there is no
further use

242
Pu t1/2 = 2.44 x 105 year
239
Pu t1/2 = 3.79 x 105 year
238
U t1/2 = 4.51 x 109 year

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THREE CATEGORIES OF RADIOACTIVE
WASTE

Low Level Radioactive Waste Clothing

used by workers Gasses and liquid
emitted by reactor Disposed of in metal
containers on site

Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste

Physically or Chemically produced

High Level Radioactive Waste Spent fuel

Neutron bombardment of daughter
products produces many nuclides Re-
processing
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DISPOSAL OF HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR
WASTE

Currently
In steel tanks
Under water
In concrete tanks

Alternatives
Deep Geological Isolation
Subduction zones
Outer Space
Ice Caps
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 Fusion: The big nuclear hope
Rather than rip nuclei apart, how about
putting them together?

alpha (4He)

Iron is most tightly bound nucleus

Can take loosely bound light nuclei
and build them into more tightly bound
nuclei, releasing energy
Huge gain in energy going from protons
tritium (1H) to helium (4He).
Its how our sun gets its energy
Much higher energy content than fission
dueterium

proton
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 Nuclear Fusion
Several small nuclei fuse
together and release energy

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 Thermonuclear fusion in the sun
Sun is 16 million degrees Celsius in center
Enough energy to ram protons together
(despite mutual repulsion) and make
deuterium, then helium
Reaction per mole ~20 million times more
energetic than chemical reactions, in general

4 protons:
mass = 4.029 2 neutrinos, photons (light
He nucleus:
4

mass = 4.0015
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E=mc2
Helium nucleus is lighter than the four protons!
Mass difference is 4.029 4.0015 = 0.0276 a.m.u.
0.7% of mass disappears, transforming to energy
1 a.m.u. (atomic mass unit) is 1.6605 10-27 kg
difference of 4.58 10-29 kg
multiply by c2 to get 4.12 10-12 J
1 mole (6.022 1023 particles) of protons 2.5 1012 J
typical chemical reactions are 100200 kJ/mole
nuclear fusion is ~20 million times more potential stuff!
works out to 150 million Calories per gram
compare to 16 million Cal/g uranium, 10 Cal/g
gasoline
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Artificial fusion

16 million degrees in suns center is just

enough to keep the process going

but sun is huge, so it seems
prodigious
In laboratory, need higher temperatures
still to get worthwhile rate of fusion
events

like 100 million degrees

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 Bottleneck in process is the reaction:
1H + 1H 2H + e+ + (or
proton-proton deuteron)
Better off starting with deuterium plus
tritium
2H and 3H, sometimes called 2D and 3T

Then:
2H + 3H 4He + n + 17.6 MeV (leads to 81
MCal/g)

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Fusion is governed by the nuclear
strong force.

Fusion: two nuclei stick together (or fuse)

to form a new, larger nucleus

Two separate One new nucleus

nuclei
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 Suppose we pull the neutron and proton apart:

Which situation above has more energy? Why?

You must do WORK on the nucleons in order to separate

themthus the separated ones have more energy!

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 Now imagine putting a hydrogen nucleus together instead
of pulling it apart. We normally write this in a special way:

2
n + p
1
H
neutron Hydrogen
proton
nucleus

n + p

This reads: a neutron and a proton fuse together to form a

hydrogen nucleus.
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 2
n + p
1
H
n + p

More energy Less energy

Where did the excess energy from the left-hand-side go?

There must be energy released in this process!! It comes

in the form of Radiant and Thermal energy

Nuclear Thermal + Radiant Energy

(fusion) Energy
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 In the case of the fusion of a neutron and a proton,
were there any electrostatic forces acting between
them? No, the neutron has no charge (its neutral).

Consider the case where two HYDROGEN nuclei fuse

together:

1 2 3
1
H +
1
H 2
He

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 +
1 2 3
1
H +
1
H 2
He
Are there any electrostatic forces involved in this
nuclear fusion reaction? Yes, each one has a proton.

What effect should this have on the two nuclei before

they fuse? The two nuclei should repel one another.

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 These get close enough to fuse together!

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 The result of the situation where they dont get
close enough is just a collisionthey bounce
off of one another.

The result of the situation where they DO get

close enough results in fusion: a new nucleus
and a release of energy.

We can only get the nuclei close enough under

extreme heat and pressure. Eg., stars

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 +
1 2 3
1
H +
1
H 2
He
1.6727 x 10-27 kg
5.0066 x 10-27 kg
3.3437 x 10-27 kg

1.6727 x 10-27 kg Why the difference?

Where did the extra
+ 3.3437 x 10-27 kg
mass go??
5.0164 x 10-27kg
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 E = mc2

Einstein has done it again! The mass

was converted into energy:
The difference was 0.0098 x 10-27 kg

The energy released is then:

E = mc2
= (0.0098 x 10-27 kg)(3 x 108 m/s)2
= 8.815 x 10-13 Joules This is the measured
energy release.
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 What is the difference between these two
situations?

The He fusion requires higher temperatures

they have to collide at higher speeds!

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The fusion of 36Li and 510N results in creation of
(a) 816O and energy transformed to other forms.
(b) 24He and energy transformed to other forms.
(c) 816O and no energy transformed to other forms.
(d) 24He and no energy transformed to other forms.
(e) Roti canai and nasi lemak.

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 PROBLEM: Complete the following
nuclear fusion reactions:

2 2
1
H +
1
H
4 4
2
He +
2
He
4 8
2
He +
4
He

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Common fusion reactions and their Q
values
D + D 4He + 23.85 MeV
H + H D + + + n + 1.44 MeV
D + T 4He + n + 17.6 MeV
D + 3He 4He + p + 18.4 MeV
D + D 3He + n + 3.3 MeV
D + D 3T + p + 4.0 MeV

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