Prompt criticalityIn nuclear engineering, prompt criticality describes a nuclear fission event in which criticality (the threshold for an exponentially growing nuclear fission chain reaction) is achieved with prompt neutrons alone and does not rely on delayed neutrons. As a result, prompt supercriticality causes a much more rapid growth in the rate of energy release than other forms of criticality. Nuclear weapons are based on prompt criticality, while nuclear reactors rely on delayed neutrons or external neutrons to achieve criticality.
High-level radioactive waste managementHigh-level radioactive waste management concerns how radioactive materials created during production of nuclear power and nuclear weapons are dealt with. Radioactive waste contains a mixture of short-lived and long-lived nuclides, as well as non-radioactive nuclides. There was reportedly some of high-level nuclear waste stored in the United States in 2002. The most troublesome transuranic elements in spent fuel are neptunium-237 (half-life two million years) and plutonium-239 (half-life 24,000 years).
Atucha Nuclear Power PlantThe Atucha Nuclear Complex, or Atucha Nuclear Power Plant, is the location for two adjacent nuclear power plants in Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, about from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River. Both are pressurized heavy-water reactors (PHWR) employing a mixture of natural uranium and enriched uranium (0.85% of 235U), and use heavy water for cooling and neutron moderation.
Nuclear power in IndiaNuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. , India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants, with a total installed capacity of 7,380 MW. Nuclear power produced a total of 43 TWh in 2020–21, contributing 3.11% of total power generation in India (1,382 TWh). 10 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 8,000 MW. In October 2010, India drew up a plan to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63 GW in 2032.
Energy amplifierIn nuclear physics, an energy amplifier is a novel type of nuclear power reactor, a subcritical reactor, in which an energetic particle beam is used to stimulate a reaction, which in turn releases enough energy to power the particle accelerator and leave an energy profit for power generation. The concept has more recently been referred to as an accelerator-driven system (ADS) or accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor. None have ever been built.
Discovery of nuclear fissionNuclear fission was discovered in December 1938 by chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch. Fission is a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller, lighter nuclei and often other particles. The fission process often produces gamma rays and releases a very large amount of energy, even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.
Fluoride volatilityFluoride volatility is the tendency of highly fluorinated molecules to vaporize at comparatively low temperatures. Heptafluorides, hexafluorides and pentafluorides have much lower boiling points than the lower-valence fluorides. Most difluorides and trifluorides have high boiling points, while most tetrafluorides and monofluorides fall in between. The term "fluoride volatility" is jargon used particularly in the context of separation of radionuclides. Valences for the majority of elements are based on the highest known fluoride.
Nuclear power in the United KingdomNuclear power in the United Kingdom generated 16.1% of the country's electricity in 2020. , the UK has 9 operational nuclear reactors at five locations (8 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) and one pressurised water reactor (PWR)), producing 5.9 GWe. It also has nuclear reprocessing plants at Sellafield and the Tails Management Facility (TMF) operated by Urenco in Capenhurst. The United Kingdom established the world's first civil nuclear programme, opening a nuclear power station, Calder Hall at Windscale, England, in 1956.
Driving cycleA driving cycle is a series of data points representing the speed of a vehicle versus time. Driving cycles are produced by different countries and organizations to assess the performance of vehicles in various ways, as for instance fuel consumption, electric vehicle autonomy and polluting emissions. Fuel consumption and emission tests are performed on chassis dynamometers. Tailpipe emissions are collected and measured to indicate the performance of the vehicle. Another use for driving cycles is in vehicle simulations.
