Table of Contents: Detailed
7.1 Overview of Nuclear Power 19
- Introduction
- Basic Nuclear Power Plant: the Boiling Water Reactor
- Boiling Water Reactor with Heat Exchange
- Overview of By-Products and Radiation
- Summary
7.2 Creation of Energy from Nuclear Fuel 27
- Introduction
- Uranium
- Plutonium
- Fuel Pellets and Fuel Rods
- Fission
- Chain Reaction and Critical Mass
- Controlling the Neutrons
7.3 Operation of Nuclear Power Plants 35
- Introduction
- Types of Nuclear Reactors
- Plutonium Isotopes and Breeders
- Nuclear Plant Equipment
- Design Options for Nuclear Reactors
- Summary
7.4 Science of Meltdowns and Explosions 43
- Introduction
- Meltdowns
- Melting Points of Fuel Rods and Fuel Pellets
- Nuclear Explosions
- Summary
7.5 Three Mile Island 49
- Three Mile Island in Perspective
- Overview of Events at Three Mile Island
- Partial Meltdown Due to Lack of Water
- Hydrogen Gas
- Reducing the Amount of Radioactivity
- The Panic
- The End Results
- Summary of Three Mile Island
7.6 Chernobyl 57
- Overview and Perspective of Chernobyl
- What Actually Happened at Chernobyl
- Design Flaws in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
- Summary of Chernobyl
7.7 Fukushima Japan 63
- Introduction
- What Happened in Japan
- Lessons Learned
7.8 Making Nuclear Power Plants Safer 67
- Introduction
- Consider Local Environment and Weather
- Design and Construction of Nuclear Power Plants
- Control Room
- Training of Operators
- Regulations and Government Inspections
- Maintenance
- Communication and Emergency Planning
- Defense in Depth
- Nuclear Safety Standards
- Summary
7.9 By-Products and Radioactivity 75
- Radioactivity Basics
- Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation Basics
- Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation Examples
- The many by-products of fission
- Half-Lives: Radioactivity and Time
7.10 Health Issues of Radioactive Decay 83
- Introduction
- Mechanisms of Each Decay Type in the Body
- Primary Effects of Radioactive Decay on Health
- Overall Health Dangers of Alpha, Beta, Gamma
- Routes of Entry into the Body
- Penetration of Each Type of Radiation
- Energy of Each Type of Radioactive Decay
- Energy Spread of Gamma as Related to Distance
- Summary
7.11 Measuring Radiation 95
- Introduction
- Physical vs. Biological Radiation Measurements
- Physical Radiation Measurements
- Biological Effect Measurements
- Dose Equivalents
- Dosages and Biological Effects
- Locating Radiation: The Geiger Counter
- Other Radiation Measurements
- Summary
7.12 Storing Nuclear Waste 113
- Introduction
- Steps in Storage
- Long Term Storage: Inside Dangers
- Long Term Storage: Outside Dangers (Weathering)
- Yucca Mountain: Overview and Location
- Yucca Mountain: The Repository
- Future of Nuclear Waste
- Summary
Appendix Material and Data for Nuclear Power 126
A.5.1 Radioisotopes: decay type, new atom, and half-life
A.5.2 Half-lives listed in order of decay time
A.5.3 Half-lives and number of steps
A.5.4 Multiple Decay Radioactive Isotopes
A.5.5 Decay Sequences for Multiple Decay Isotopes
A.5.6 Radioactive Decay Summaries
A.5.7 Suggested Nuclear Standards from ANS
A.5.8 Suggested Nuclear Standards from NRC
Buy your copy of Nuclear Power Technologies Explained Simply