Nulear Flashcards
is the splitting of an atom into two or more smaller ones.
Fission
is the fusing of two or more smaller atoms into a larger one.
Fusion
is an actinide element and has the highest atomic mass of any naturally occurring element. In its refined state, it is a heavy, silvery-white metal that is malleable, ductile, slightly paramagnetic, and very dense, second only to tungsten.
Uranium
is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air and forms a dull coating when oxidized.
Plutonium
(also called urania) is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. It is a step in the processing of uranium after it has been mined but before fuel fabrication or uranium enrichment.
Yellowcake
Becquerel discovered radioactivity in
1898
the existence of isotopes was shown around
1900
What was the generating plant accident near Harrisburg, Penn. on March 28, 1979, that was coupled with a decline in electrical power demand has caused the cancellation or delay of a number of planned nuclear and fossil-fueled plants.
Three mile island accident
The fission of the atom was demonstrated by
Fermi, followed by Meitner and Frisch.
The first spontaneously decaying substances discovered by the Curies
Radium and polonium
These are the common isotopes of uranium and thorium that do not split upon absorbing a neutron but do form other isotopes that are fissionable.
U-238 and Th-232
isotopes that are not fissile but are convertible to fissile materials
Fertile materials
Isotope that has a long half-life (24,000 years) and has desirable properties for military applications.
-has a high cross section (ability to absorb) for fast neutrons and a low critical mass for fast fission
Pu-239
This isotope is made by the distillation of liquid hydrogen. Also, it is of great interest in nuclear fusion work because its major fusion reaction occurs at a low temperature compared with other substances.
Tritium
This includes many types of nuclear waste of varying degrees of hazard.
Defense waste
These isotopes are used for food and sterilization.
Sr-90 and Cs-137
An isotope used for reactor control and safety rods.
B-10
An isotope used as an efficient moderator.
D2O
This type of nuclear reactor is designed to produce enormous amount of energy in a very brief time.
Atom Bomb
A type of nuclear reactor that uses U-238 as a fertile material to produce Pu-239 is usually not designed to produce useful heat.
Converters
A fertile material used to surround the core of a breeder reactor to absorb the fast neutrons.
U-238
This type of reactor runs without moderators and is designed to produce more fuel than they consume.
Breeders
A part of a burner reactor where graphite slows the neutrons down so that they are more likely to be absorbed into a nearby fuel rod.
CORE/GRAPHITE CORE
This type of nuclear reactor uses uranium enriched in 235U and some type of moderator to produce heat and slow down the neutrons to maintain the chain reaction.
Burners
This contains fissionable material in sufficient quantity and is arranged to be capable of maintaining a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction.
Nuclear Reactors
An isotope enrichment process that depends on the centrifugal force for the separation.
Gas Centrifuge Process
An isotope enrichment process where is based on differences in the diffusion rate between UF6-235 and UF6-238 through porous barriers several means free paths long.
Gaseous Diffusion Process
Two processes were used to separate U-235 and U-238.
Gaseous Diffusion Process and Gas Centrifuge Process
A process by which the relative abundance of the isotopes of a given element is altered, thus producing a form of the element that has been enriched in one particular isotope and depleted in its other isotopic forms.
Isotope enrichment
Process of separating pure uranium from the uranium containing impurities. It is the conversion of uranium metal to a metal pure enough for a reactor to use.
Refining and Purification
It is enriched to varying percentages of ²³⁵U and is widely preferred because of its high melting point (2176°C), good thermal conductivity, high density, and resistance to the effects of radiation.
UO2
It is one of the three main steps of processing nuclear plants that tend to reduce the volume of radioactive waste by separating out the radioactive component from the bulk waste, often changing the waste’s composition in the process.
Treatment process
This process separates gaseous uranium hexafluoride into two streams, one being enriched to the required level known as low-enriched uranium (LEU); the other stream is progressively depleted in 235U and is called “tails,” or simply depleted uranium.
Enrichment Process
It is used where deposits are close to the surface and involve a large pit where stripping out and removal of much overburden (overlying rock) is required.
Open-pit mining
The other two are reactor-synthesized and extend the amount of fissionable material far beyond that which occurs naturally
²³²U and ²³³Pu
The three fissionable isotopes that have a higher probability of fission than capture when absorbing a neutron.
²³³U, ²³⁵U, and ²³⁹Pu
T or F. Neutrons released by fission are at high energy levels and can react in fast reactors.
T
T or F. The core of a burner reactor consists of approximately 200 nuclear fuelassemblies grouped together.
T
T or F. In a burner reactor, the withdrawal of the rods speeds up the chain
reaction and less heat are produced.
F
T or F. The reactor core, which contains fuel assemblies and control rods, is enclosed in a heavy stainless-steel vessel.
T
T or F. As an added safety feature, the entire burner reactor assembly is housed in a concrete structure.
T
T or F. A liquid coolant is pumped into the burner reactor vessel to increase the heat from the core.
F
T or F. Heat is carried away from the reactor core by pressurized water, steam, sodium, helium, or CO₂.
T
T or F. The fuel is held in rods so that the neutrons released will fly out and cause nuclear fission in other rods.
T
T or F. Isotopes may be used as tracers, for studying structural chemistry, in biological, chemical, and physical research, and for geological studies
T
A process by which the relative abundance of the isotopes of a given element are altered, thus producing a form of the element that has been enriched in one particular isotope and depleted in its other isotopic forms.
Isotope enrichment
Three such advanced isotope separation processes:
★ The plasma separation process (PSP)
★ The atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) process
★ The molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS) process
Only uranium isotope that occurs in nature
²³⁵U
reactor-synthesized and extend the amount of fissionable material far beyond that which occurs naturally.
²³³U & ²³⁹Pu
have relatively small surface disturbance and the quantity of material that must be removed to access the ore is considerably less than in the case of an open pit mine.
Underground mines
Process where uranium is extracted from the crushed and ground-up ore by leaching, in which either a strong acid or a strongly alkaline solution is used to dissolve the uranium oxide.
Uranium milling and processing
uses laser technology to selectively excite 235U, the fissile isotope, from the much more abundant 238U isotope.
Laser separation
Three major types of Reactors:
★ Burners
★ Breeders
★ Converters
The types of burner reactor:
the pressurized water reactor (PWR)
the boiling water reactor (BWR)
the liquid-metal cooled reactor (LMR)
Three (3) main steps in the processing of nuclear waste:
pre-treatment, treatment and conditioning
prepares the waste for processing and includes sorting and segregation to separate out contaminated items from non-contaminated ones.
Pre-treatment
tend to reduce the volume or radioactive waste by separating out the radioactive component from the bulk waste, often changing the waste’s composition in the process.
Treatment processes
brings the waste into a safe, stable and manageable form so it can be transported, stored and disposed.
Conditioning
“an act mandating an immediate validation process which satisfies internationally accepted nuclear power industry norms to determine the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant’s operability culminating in either the immediate rehabilitation, certification and commercial operation or the immediate permanent closure and salvage value recovery of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes”
House Bill No. 1291
filed House Bill No. 1291
Representative Kimi S. Cojuangco
can be used to provide lights that will function for a long time in remote locations and that require no external source of power
Tritium and ⁸⁵Kr
used to sterilize hospital medical supplies, foodstuffs, and sewage.
⁶⁰Co
Occurs naturally at 19.8% concentration and is concentrated to 40 to 95% for control produced by multistage exchange distribution of the weak dimethyl ether complex with the trifluoride
¹⁰B
occurs naturally at 92.6% and is concentrated by a method that is currently classified.
⁷Li
are experimental tools of excep tional diversity and application.
Tracer elements
generates heat which can be used to produce steam to drive prime movers, thus generating electricity.
Controled fission
Uranium and Thorium fission
²³⁵U + neutron ➡️ fission products + energy + 2.43 neutrons
Naturally occurring uranium contains only ___% ²³⁵U, the remainder being ²³⁸U
0.71%
It is more abundant in the earth’s crust than mercury and is present in about the same amount as tin and molybdenum. It is widely distributed.
Uranium
Thorium exists with only one natural isotope and is not very rare.
²³²Th
Most of it is obtained as a by-product of the processing of _____, a complex phosphate, for the extraction of rare earth.
monazite
There are two types of enrichment technologies in large-scale commercial use, each of which uses uranium hexafluoride gas as feed:
gaseous diffusion and gas centrifuge.
A third technology that can be used to enrich uranium is called ___________. This technology has not been utilized at the commercial level as of today.
laser enrichment
The gas diffusion process is repeated many times in a series of diffusion stages called a
Cascade
The most common reactor contains 150-200 fuel assemblies
the pressurized-water reactor (PWR)
The process of producing electricity begins when uranium atoms are split (i.e., fission) by particles known as
neutrons
The liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor (LMFBR) keeps neutron energy high by
using liquid sodium as a coolant
are the residues from the defense production cycle.
Defense wastes
was established in 1958 in accordance with Republic Act No. 2067
Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
In 1958, the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established in accordance with Republic Act No. 2067, which was supported by then president
Carlos P. Garcia
In October 2016, the DOE approved the creation of
the Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization (NEPIO)
The second most common reactor, contains 370-800 fuel assemblies.
Boiling-water reactor
