Nuclear Energy and Radiation!

• November 3, 2007

• Larry R. Foulke

• Director of Nuclear Programs, University of Pittsburgh

Presentation to the Westinghouse Science Honors Institute

ATOM• ELECTRONS

• NUCLEUS– Proton

– Neutron

“The Planatary Atom”

ATOM• ELECTRONS

• NUCLEUS– Proton

– Neutron

• CHARACTERIZATION– Atomic Number Z = #e = #p

– Atomic Mass Number A = #p + #n

NUCLEUS

• NUCLIDE -- A specific nucleus configuration (#p & #n)

XAZ

...XXX 2AZ

1AZ

AZ

++

• ISOTOPE -- Different nucleus configurations (# n) of the same chemical element (#p)

ISOTOPES

238UraniumU237UraniumU

236UraniumU235UraniumU

234UraniumU233UraniumU

232UraniumU

23892

23792

23692

23592

23492

23392

23292

−

−

−

−

−

−

−

ISOTOPES

TritiumTorHDeuteriumDorH

HydrogenH

31

31

21

21

11

NUCLEUS

• NUCLEAR FORCES– Overcome Proton Repulsion

• Strong

• Short Range

• MASS DEFECT

MAtom < Σ MConstituents

• MASS DEFECT

MAtom < Σ MConstituents

• MASS-ENERGY EQUIVALENCEE = mc2

• BINDING ENERGY

BE = [ MAtom - Σ MConstituents ]c2

NUCLEAR FORCES

Binding Energy/Nucleon

ΔBE

235U FissionΔBE/nucleon x 236

~ 200 MeV

Binding Energy/Nucleon

FissionProducts

MASS AND ENERGY SCALES• Atomic Mass Unit

1 amu = 1/12 mass of Carbon-12 atom = 1.660565 x 10−27 kg

• Electron Volt1 eV = 1 electron charge x 1 volt

= 1.60219 x 10− 19 Joules (watt-secs)1 keV = 1,000 eV1 MeV = 1,000,000 eV

• E=mc2

1 amu = 931.5016 MeV

Δ BE

D-T Fusion

Binding Energy/Nucleon

RADIOACTIVE DECAY

• EXCESS ENERGY IN NUCLEUS• CONSERVATION LAWS

– Charge– Mass Number– Total Energy– Momentum

• PROBABILITY

γ+→

γ•

ν+β+→

ν+β+→

=ν=β•

α+→

=α•

∗

−

−

−−

++

++++

00

23692

23692

00

00

01

11

10

00

01

9039

9038

01

01

42

23190

23592

42

42

UUGAMMA

*pn

*YSrneutrino*eBETA

ThUHeALPHA

anti

NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY

Radioactivity

Penetrating Properties of Ionizing Radiation

Radioactive Half-Life

HALF-LIFE EXAMPLES

• URANIUM 232 70 yr233 160 000 yr234 250 000 yr235 700 000 000 yr236 23 000 000 yr238 4 500 000 000 yr

• FISSION PRODUCTSStrontium-90 29 yrCesium-137 30 yr

NUCLEAR REACTIONS• PROJECTILE / TARGET• COMPOUND NUCLEUS C*• PRODUCTS

Nuclear Reaction

NUCLEAR REACTIONS• PROJECTILE / TARGET• COMPOUND NUCLEUS C*• PRODUCTS

X + x → C* → Y + yX(x,y)YX(x,y)

• “ARTIFICIAL”/“MAN-MADE”– Radioactivity– Energy– Conservation Laws

REACTION ENERGY BALANCEEX + MXc2 + Ex + Mxc2 = EY + MYc2 + Ey + Myc2

Ei Kinetic Energy of Constituent iMic2 Mass Energy of Constituent i

[(EY + Ey ) − (EX + Ex)] = Q-Value

[(EY + Ey ) − (EX + Ex)] = [(MX + Mx) − (MY + My)]c2

Q > 0 → Exothermal [Exoergic] Reaction

Q < 0 → Endothermal [Endoergic] Reaction|Q| = Threshold Energy

Nuclear Fission

NUCLEAR FISSION

• ADVANTAGES– Energy Output

Coal 235U2500 tons 1 lb5000 tonnes 1 kg

• Combustion (C+O2 → CO2 ) 2-3 eV• Fission 200,000,000 eV

[200 MeV]

Nuclear Fission

NUCLEAR FISSION• ADVANTAGES

– Energy Output– Neutrons

• DISADVANTAGES– Fission Radiation Shielding/Heat RemovalShielding/Heat Removal– Fission-Product Radiation

Shielding/Containment/HeatShielding/Containment/Heat RemovalRemoval

Waste Management & DisposalWaste Management & Disposal

Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

QuickTime™ and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

PWR Steam Cycle

Uranium Fuel Pellets (one pellet equals 2,000 lbs of coal)

1999 U.S. Electrical Energy By Source(Ref: Annual Energy Outlook 2001, DOE/EIA-0383, 2001)

~10% (wind and solar = 0.15%)

Renewables

20%Nuclear

16%Natural Gas

3%Petroleum

51%Coal

Percent of TotalSource

• 440 nuclear power plants

• 16% of world’s electricity

• Displaces 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2/year

World View

• World nuclear generation sets record in 2004– 383,629 MW– 2,696 MMWh (3.7% increase)

• Led by:– Record setting performance

• U.S.• Sweden

– Restart of units in:• Japan• Canada

– Commissioning of new units• South Korea• Ukraine

World View

Substantial New GW Targets

24 by 202043India

10 additional by 2015

15-25 additional by 2020

15 on order or planned by 2015

36 by 2020

Target(GW)

8.816South Korea

1.922Russia

3.245Japan

2.07China

UnderConstruction

(GW)

Operating(GW)Country

• Quick facts

– 103 nuclear plants– 20% of the nation’s electricity

U.S. Nuclear Energy

– Displaces 680 million metric tons of CO2/yr

– Equivalent to 131 millionpassenger cars/yr

U.S. Nuclear Drivers

• Safe• Proven performance• Cost effective• Affordable• Energy security/

energy independence• Base load generation/

grid stability• Emission-free

85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission /EUCG

Nuclear 1.72Coal 1.8Gas 5.77Oil 5.53

United StatesCost Effective (in constant cents/kWh)

U.S. Energy DemandAmerica Is Projected to Need 50% More Electricity by 2025

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

1980 19901970 2003 2015 2025

5,787BkWh

3,839BkWh

Nuclear Science and Technology is Much More Than Nuclear Power !!

Nuclear Science and Technology• Medicine• Agriculture• Industry• Environmental Protection• Public Safety and Basic Science• Space Exploration

Ubiquity of Radiation Applications

Overall impact in the U.S.(1995 data, based on multiplicative effects)

SALES

Radioisotopes

JOBS

Nuclear Energy

331$ Billions

4.0

90 0.4

421* 4.4*Larger than General Motors*Larger than entire U.S. Airline industry

Millions

Ref: www.nei.org

Medicine

• Sterilization of medical products- Surgical dressings, sutures, catheters, syringes

• Diagnosis (12-14 million procedures each year in U.S.)

- Technetium-99 extensively used for bone cancer, prostate cancer

- Imaging for heart, brain, lung disorders- Imaging for cancer tumors- Radioimmunoassay (determine levels of hormones,

vitamins, enzymes, drugs)• New drug testing

- Over 80% of all new drugs tested with radioactive tagging before approval

• Therapy- Decrease pain of bone cancer- Hyperthyroidism (20,000 patients/year)- Cancer (direct gamma, “smart bullets”)

Agriculture

• Reduce needs for fertilizers and water• Speed breeding of improved crops

[2,250 new crop varieties worldwide(89% radiation used)]

- Greater yield- Increased disease resistance- Better nutritional value

• Animal husbandry- Increase body weight- Vaccines to eliminate diseases

• Insect control- Sterilization (screw worm, Mediterranean fruit flies, gypsy moths)

• Food irradiation (76 million cases of food poisoning each year in U.S.)- Kill bacteria, molds, yeasts, parasites, insects- Extend shelf life

Co-60 food irradiator

Industry

• Tracers (pipeline leaks, malfunctions,wear, and corrosion)

• Thickness gauges (sheet metal,paper, textiles)

• Density gauges (oil and foodindustries)

• Imaging (weld inspection,non-destruction examination)

• Smoke detectors (unmatchedreliability)

• Lighting (airports, exit signs, traffic control)• Tires (vulcanize rubber)• Reduce static electricity (printing process,

paper making)Ir-192 gamma image

Environmental Protection

• Environmental pollution- Determine pollution

• Amounts and locations• Causes• Proper remedy

• Air pollution and global climate change- Uptake of greenhouse gases by plants

and the sea- Measure CO2 release by individual plants

• Water pollution- Measure CO2 levels in sea water (microscopic

phytoplankton aggregation)- Tracer technique for salt water/fresh water mixing;

cause of pollution• Soil pollution

- Identify pesticide and fertilizer decomposition product locations- Identify source of contamination

Public Safety and Basic Science

• Fighting terrorism- Luggage inspections- Anthrax in mail- Sensing clandestine weapons

testing- Sensing contamination releases

• Safety and Science- Airport runway lighting- Dating techniques (archeology,

etc.)

Tritium light

Californiumbased explosion

detection system

Space Exploration

• Electrical generation- Radio-Thermal Generators (RTG)

• Pu-238 excellent heat source (87.7 year half-life)

• Direct conversion to electricity (~7% efficiency)

- Dynamic Isotope Power System (DIPS)• Pu-238 still excellent heat

source• Rankine cycle active

system (~20% efficiency)• Prometheus Project

– For Deep Space missions >100 KW

Galileo

Cassini

Space Exploration

• Prometheus Project– For Deep Space missions >100 KW

Nuclear Power in Context of Spacecraft Applications

• Nuclear Fission Reactors and Radioisotope Thermal Generators

• Key operational features– Safe, Light, Long life– Enabling new methods of space exploration– Deliberate trajectories, high-power science, large band-width

communications– Wide area planetary surface coverage, independent of solar flux– Can withstand harsh environments

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

Elec

tric

Pow

er L

evel

(kW

e)

1 hour 1 day 1 month 1 year 10 years

Chemical

Nuclear Fission

• Nuclear Fission • Solar

• Radioisotope/dynamic • Solar

Solar • Radioisotope/passive • Solar

Duration of Use4035302520151050

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Distance from Sun (AU)

Sola

r Ene

rgy

Flux

(Ear

th =

1.0

)

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

SaturnUranus Neptune Pluto

New Nuclear Science and Technology Program at the

University of Pittsburgh• Five course undergraduate

sequence in the School of Engineering.

• Permits an engineering baccalaureate major to get option in nuclear engineering

• Currently teaching “Introduction to Nuclear Engineering” to 72 undergraduates.

• Have concept approval for graduate courses in nuclear science and technology.

• Great support by Westinghouse and First Energy (Beaver Valley)

Renaissance Engineering• Be a changemaster,”

creating exciting new technologies.

• How about protecting our environment, improving our quality of life, and earning a good living at the same time?

Consider the opportunities!• Provide future electrical energy

systems such as advanced reactors, needed not only by the U.S. but also by developing nations for economic security and growth.

• Design power systems, nuclear propulsion systems, and radiation sources and detectors for deep space missions.

• Apply radiation for the sterilization of medical instruments and food processing equipment, and for food preservation.

Consider the opportunities!• Develop advanced radiation

sources and detectors for use in scientific research as well as in precision manufacturing.

• Apply radiation to diagnose and combat cancer and other diseases.

• Contribute to national security through the stewardship of nuclear weapons and engineering safeguards against nuclear proliferation.

E=mc2