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Nuclear Engineering
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Nuclear engineering designs and operates the systems that release energy from nuclear reactions, chiefly the fission of uranium and plutonium, for electricity generation, naval propulsion, medical isotope production and research. It combines reactor physics, materials science and radiation safety to extract that energy while containing the intense radioactivity the reaction produces. The discipline emerged directly out of the Manhattan Project's wartime reactor work and became a distinct civilian engineering specialty once nuclear power moved from weapons research to electricity generation in the 1950s.
Facts
Core ConcernHarnessing nuclear reactions, primarily fission, for power generation, medicine and industry, and managing their safety and radioactive byproducts. 1 Core PrincipleExtract usable energy from nuclear fission while containing its radioactive byproducts, a discipline defined as much by what it must keep contained as by what it releases as useful power. 1 Disputed
Origin Year1950
1950 marks the establishment of the first dedicated academic nuclear engineering programs, shortly after the Manhattan Project's reactor work was declassified for civilian use; the underlying reactor physics dates to Enrico Fermi's Chicago Pile-1 in 1942. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Reactor design depends on radiation-resistant structural and shielding materials, a materials engineering concern.
Reactor cooling systems, turbines and containment structures are mechanical engineering concerns.
Steel, Materials Reactor pressure vessels and containment structures are built from specialized steel alloys.
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
American Nuclear Society, About (ans.org)
American Nuclear Society, American Nuclear SocietyMission statementQuote, Mission statement
To empower a strong, connected, and engaged professional community that cultivates nuclear science and technology for the benefit of humanity.
American Nuclear Society, About (ans.org)
American Nuclear Society, American Nuclear SocietyAssociated With: Materials EngineeringView the Source American Nuclear Society, About (ans.org)
American Nuclear Society, American Nuclear SocietyAssociated With: Mechanical EngineeringView the Source Nuclear Engineering (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section, opening definition of nuclear engineeringQuote, Lead section, opening definition of nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes.
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