UNIT I -NUCLEAR PHYSICS SYLLUBUS Nuclear model of an atomEquivalence of mass and energy-binding- radio activityhalf life-neutron interactionscross sections.

Nuclear model of an atom

Positive charged mass of an atom concentrates within the sphere of radius of about 10^-12cm. Electrons revolve about a massive,small,positive charged nucleus with dia. of size 10^-10cm. Alpha particles scatters at least by an angle ,calculated to be exp(-/m). Rutherford failed because it failed to explain classical laws of electromagnetism.

 A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, the nuclear fission crosssection), its density, its shape, its enrichment, its purity, its temperature, and its surroundings.

Proton Neutron Model

N=(A-Z)neutrons Avoids failure of Proton-electron model. Nuclear force Potential energy of proton.

Equivalence of mass
Both proton and electron have different angular momentum. Spin of the nucleus. Model derives from the Uncertainity principle

Proton Electron Model

Hydrogen nucleus has smallest mass. Heavier nuclei were composed of multiples of hydrogen nucleus called protons. A-atomic mass Z-atomic number

Bohr Postulates
Electrons revolve around the nucleus obeying the classical mechanics. Only orbits whose angular momentum L is an integral multiple of h/2 are allowed. Electrons radiate energy when moving from one orbit to another. E=h-difference between characteristic energies associated with two orbits.

Equivalence of energy
Series name Lyman Balmer Paschen Brackett Pfund Spectrum location Ultraviolet Visible & UV IR IR IR

 When atoms are excited by electrical discharge,atoms emit light in continuous wavelength but not in discrete wavelength. Wavelength of light emitted by hydrogen: 1/=RH[1/n0-1/n^2] RH=10967758/m

binding
The point at which the chain reaction can become self-sustaining is known as critical mass. When a nuclear chain reaction in a mass of fissile material is self-sustaining, the mass is said to be in a critical state in which there is no increase or decrease in power, temperature or neutron population.

Nuclear fuel cycle

The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the front end, which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the service period in which the fuel is used during reactor operation, and steps in the back end, which are necessary to safely manage, contain, and either reprocess or dispose of spent nuclear fuel. If spent fuel is not reprocessed, the fuel cycle is referred to as an open fuel cycle (or a once-through fuel cycle); if the spent fuel is reprocessed, it is referred to as a closed fuel cycle.

Nuclear power relies on fissionable material that can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons.
Examples of such materials include uranium and plutonium. Most nuclear reactors use a moderator to lower the kinetic energy of the neutrons and increase the probability that fission will occur. This allows reactors to use material with far lower concentration of fissile isotopes than nuclear weapons. Graphite and heavy water are the most effective moderators, because they slow the neutrons through collisions without absorbing them. Reactors using heavy water or graphite as the moderator can operate using natural uranium.

radio activity
A Light water reactor (LWR) uses water in the form that occurs in nature, and require fuel that is enriched in fissile isotopes, typically uranium enriched to 3-5% in the less common isotope U-235, the only fissile isotope that is found in significant quantity in nature. One alternative to this low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel are Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuels produced by blending plutonium with natural or depleted uranium, and these fuels provide an avenue to utilize surplus weapons-grade plutonium.

 During the nuclear reaction inside a reactor, the fissile isotopes in nuclear fuel are consumed, producing more and more fission products, most of which are considered radioactive waste. The buildup of fission products and consumption of fissile isotopes eventually stop the nuclear reaction, causing the fuel to become a spent nuclear fuel.

Front End
Uranium ore - the principal raw material of nuclear fuel Yellowcake - the form in which uranium is transported to a conversion plant UF6 - used in enrichment Nuclear fuel - a compact, inert, insoluble solid

 Uranium reserves are the amounts of ore that are estimated to be recoverable at stated costs. Uranium in nature consists primarily of two isotopes, U-238 and U-235. The numbers refer to the atomic mass number for each isotope, or the number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus. Naturally occurring uranium consists of approximately 99.28% U-238 and 0.71% U-235. The atomic nucleus of U-235 will nearly always fission when struck by a free neutron, and the isotope is therefore said to be a "fissile" isotope.

 Uranium ore can be extracted through conventional mining in open pit and underground methods similar to those used for mining other metals. In-situ leach mining methods also are used to mine uranium in the United States. In this technology, uranium is leached from the in-place ore through an array of regularly spaced wells and is then recovered from the leach solution at a surface plant. Uranium ores in the United States typically range from about 0.05 to 0.3% uranium oxide (U3O8). Some uranium deposits developed in other countries are of higher grade and are also larger than deposits mined in the United States.

Half life
Uranium is also present in very low-grade amounts (50 to 200 parts per million) in some domestic phosphate-bearing deposits of marine origin. Because very large quantities of phosphatebearing rock are mined for the production of wetprocess phosphoric acid used in high analysis fertilizers and other phosphate chemicals, at some phosphate processing plants the uranium, although present in very low concentrations, can be economically recovered from the process stream.

Milling
Mined uranium ores normally are processed by grinding the ore materials to a uniform particle size and then treating the ore to extract the uranium by chemical leaching. The milling process commonly yields dry powder-form material consisting of natural uranium, "yellowcake", which is sold on the uranium market as U3O8.

Uranium conversion
Milled uranium oxide, U3O8, must be converted to uranium hexafluoride, UF6, which is the form required by most commercial uranium enrichment facilities currently in use. A solid at room temperature, uranium hexafluoride can be changed to a gaseous form at moderately higher temperature of 57 C (134 F). The uranium hexafluoride conversion product contains only natural, not enriched, uranium. Triuranium octaoxide (U3O8) is also converted directly to ceramic grade uranium dioxide (UO2) for use in reactors not requiring enriched fuel, such as CANDU. The volumes of material converted directly to UO2 are typically quite small compared to the amounts converted to UF6.

Enrichment
Nuclear fuel cycle begins when uranium is mined, enriched and manufactured to nuclear fuel (1) which is delivered to a nuclear power plant. After usage in the power plant the spent fuel is delivered to a reprocessing plant (if fuel is recycled) (2) or to a final repository (if no recycling is done) (3) for geological disposition. In reprocessing 95% of spent fuel can be recycled to be returned to usage in a nuclear power plant (4).

neutron interactions
The concentration of the fissionable isotope, U-235 (0.71% in natural uranium) is less than that required to sustain a nuclear chain reaction in light water reactor cores. Natural UF6 thus must be enriched in the fissionable isotope for it to be used as nuclear fuel. The different levels of enrichment required for a particular nuclear fuel application are specified by the customer: light-water reactor fuel normally is enriched to 3.5% U-235, but uranium enriched to lower concentrations is also required. Enrichment is accomplished using one or more methods of
isotope separation. Gaseous diffusion and gas centrifuge are the commonly used uranium enrichment technologies, but new enrichmenttechnologies are currently being developed.

The bulk (96%) of the byproduct from enrichment is depleted uranium (DU), which can be used for armor, kinetic energy penetrators, radiation shielding. Still, there are vast quantities of depleted uranium in storage. The United States Department of Energy alone has 470,000 tonnes. About 95% of depleted uranium is stored as uranium hexafluoride (UF6).

Isotope separation.
Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes, for example separating natural uranium into enriched uranium and depleted uranium. This is a crucial process in the manufacture of uranium fuel for nuclear power stations, and is also required for the creation of uranium based nuclear weapons. Plutonium based weapons use plutonium produced in a nuclear reactor, which must be operated in such a way as to produce plutonium already of suitable isotopic mix or grade.

Diffusion techniques
Gaseous diffusion Thermal diffusion Gas centrifuge

Gaseous diffusion
Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce enriched uranium by forcing gaseous uranium hexafluoride (hex) through semi-permeable membranes. This produces a slight separation between the molecules containing 235U and 238U. Throughout the Cold War, gaseous diffusion played a major role as a uranium enrichment technique, and as of 2008 accounted for about 33% of enriched uranium production, but is now an obsolete technology that is steadily being replaced by the later generations of technology as the diffusion plants reach their ends-of-life .

Thermal diffusion
Thermal diffusion utilizes the transfer of heat across a thin liquid or gas to accomplish isotope separation. The process exploits the fact that the lighter 235U gas molecules will diffuse toward a hot surface, and the heavier 238U gas molecules will diffuse toward a cold surface . It was abandoned in favor of gaseous diffusion.

Gas centrifuge
The gas centrifuge process uses a large number of rotating cylinders in series and parallel formations. Each cylinder's rotation creates a strong centrifugal force so that the heavier gas molecules containing 238U move toward the outside of the cylinder and the lighter gas molecules rich in 235U collect closer to the center.

It requires much less energy to achieve the same separation than the older gaseous diffusion process, which it has largely replaced and so is the current method of choice and is termed second generation.

Fabrication
For use as nuclear fuel, enriched uranium hexafluoride is converted into uranium dioxide (UO2) powder that is then processed into pellet form. The pellets are then fired in a high temperature sintering furnace to create hard, ceramic pellets of enriched uranium. The cylindrical pellets then undergo a grinding process to achieve a uniform pellet size. The pellets are stacked, according to each nuclear reactor core's design specifications, into tubes of corrosion-resistant metal alloy. The tubes are sealed to contain the fuel pellets: these tubes are called fuel rods.

The finished fuel rods are grouped in special fuel assemblies that are then used to build up the nuclear fuel core of a power reactor.

 The metal used for the tubes depends on the design of the reactor. Stainless steel was used in the past, but most reactors now use zirconium. For the most common types of reactors, boiling water reactors (BWR) and pressurized water reactors (PWR), the tubes are assembled into bundles with the tubes spaced precise distances apart. These bundles are then given a unique identification number, which enables them to be tracked from manufacture through use and into disposal.

Nuclear reactor
nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which runs through turbines that power either ship's propellers or generators.

Electrical power generation

The energy released in the fission process generates heat, some of which can be converted into usable energy. A common method of harnessing this thermal energy is to use it to boil water to produce pressurized steam which will then drive a steam turbine that generates electricity.

Used by thermal reactors: Graphite moderated reactors Water moderated reactors

Heavy water reactors

Light water reactors use ordinary water to moderate and cool the reactors. When at operating temperature, if the temperature of the water increases, its density drops, and fewer neutrons passing through it are slowed enough to trigger further reactions.

 That negative feedback stabilizes the reaction rate. Graphite and heavy water reactors tend to be more thoroughly thermalised than light water reactors. Due to the extra thermalization, these types can use natural uranium/unenriched fuel. Light element moderated reactors. These reactors are moderated by lithium or beryllium.

Organically moderated reactors (OMR) use biphenyl and terphenyl as moderator and coolant.

Classification by coolant
Pressurized water reactor (PWR) Pressurized heavy water reactors Boiling water reactor (BWR) Pool-type reactor Liquid metal cooled reactor. Gas cooled reactors Molten Salt Reactors

Nuclear fuel
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant). It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor.

 Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. The reprocessed uranium, which constitutes the bulk of the spent fuel material, can in principle also be re-used as fuel, but that is only economic when uranium prices are high. Finally, a breeder reactor can employ not only the recycled plutonium and uranium in spent fuel, but all the actinides, closing the nuclear fuel cycle and potentially multiplying the energy extracted from natural uranium by about 60 times.

Nuclear
Transport of radioactive materials: Transport is an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle.
There are nuclear power reactors in operation in several countries but uranium mining is viable in only a few areas . Nuclear fuel cycle materials are transported in solid form, the exception being uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which is considered a gas. Most of the material used in nuclear fuel is transported several times during the cycle.

 Packaging for nuclear materials includes, where appropriate, shielding to reduce potential radiation exposures. In the case of some materials, such as fresh uranium fuel assemblies, the radiation levels are negligible and no shielding is required. Other materials, such as spent fuel and highlevel waste, are highly radioactive and require special handling.

In-core fuel management : A nuclear reactor core is composed of a few hundred "assemblies", arranged in a regular array of cells, each cell being formed by a fuel or control rod surrounded, in most designs, by a moderator and coolant, which is water in most reactors. Because of the fission process that consumes the fuels, the old fuel rods must be changed periodically to fresh ones. The available bundles must be arranged in such a way that the yield is maximized, while safety limitations and operational constraints are satisfied.

 A current concern in the nuclear power field is the safe disposal and isolation of either spent fuel from reactors or, if the reprocessing option is used, wastes from reprocessing plants. These materials must be isolated from the biosphere until the radioactivity contained in them has diminished to a safe level.

A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons.
Such a reactor needs no neutron moderator, but must use fuel that is relatively rich in fissile material when compared to that required for a thermal reactor.

cross sections
Fast-neutron reactors can fission all actinides, while the thorium fuel cycle produces low levels of transuranics. Unlike LWRs, in principle these fuel cycles could recycle their plutonium and minor actinides and leave only fission products and activation products as waste.

Zirconium
Zirconium is a lustrous, grayish-white, soft, ductile and malleable metal which is solid at room temperature, though it becomes hard and brittle at lower purities. In powder form, zirconium is highly flammable, but the solid form is far less prone to ignition.

Zirconium is highly resistant to corrosion by alkalis, acids, salt water and other agents.
However, it will dissolve in hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, especially when fluorine is present. Alloys with zinc become magnetic below 35 K.

Occurence
The principal commercial source of zirconium is the silicate mineral, zircon (ZrSiO4), which is found primarily in Australia, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as in smaller deposits around the world. Five isotopes of zirconium also exist as metastable isomers: 83mZr, 85mZr, 89mZr, 90m1Zr, 90m2Zr and 91mZr. Of these, 90m2Zr has the shortest half-life at 131 nanoseconds. 89mZr is the longest lived with a half-life of 4.161 minutes.

Production
Zirconium is a by-product of the mining and processing of the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile, as well as tin mining. Upon being collected from coastal waters, zircon-containing sand is purified by spiral concentrators to remove lighter materials, which are then placed back into the water safely, as they are all natural components of beach sand. Using magnetic separators, the titanium ores ilmenite and rutile are removed.

Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. Beryllium increases hardness and resistance to corrosion when alloyed to aluminium, cobalt, copper iron and nickel. Because of its low density and atomic mass, beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays and other forms of ionizing radiation; therefore, it is the most common window material for X-ray equipment and in particle physics experiments.

Occurence
Beryllium has a concentration of 2 to 6 parts per million (ppm) in the Earth's crust. The Sun has a concentration of 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) of beryllium. The two main ores of beryllium, beryl and bertrandite, are found in Argentina, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Russia and the United States.

Production
The extraction of beryllium from its compounds is a difficult process due to its high affinity for oxygen at elevated temperatures, and its ability to reduce water when its oxide film is removed.

Beryllium is most-commonly extracted from beryl, which is either sintered using an extraction agent or melted into a soluble mixture. The sintering process involves mixing beryl with sodium fluorosilicate and soda at 770C to form sodium fluoroberyllate, aluminium oxide and silicon dioxide.

Applications
Radiation windows Mechanical applications Mirrors Magnetic applications Nuclear applications Acoustics Electronic