Lecture notes for introduction to nuclear engineering 101

The lecture notes for introductory nuclear engineering are provided for Department of Energy personnel that are recent graduates, transfers from non-nuclear industries, and people with minimum engineering training. The material assumes a knowledge of algebra and elementary calculus. These notes support and supplement a three-hour lecture. The reader is led into the subject from the familiar macroscopic world to the microscopic world of atoms and the parts of atoms called elementary particles. Only a passing reference is made to the very extensive world of quarks and tansitory particles to concentrate on those associated with radioactivity and fission. The Einsteinian truth of mass-energy equivalence provides an understanding of the forces binding a nucleus with a resulting mass defect that results in fusion at one end of the mass spectrum and fission at the other. Exercises are provided in calculating the energy released in isotopic transformation, reading and understanding the chart of the nuclides. The periodic table is reviewed to appreciate that the noble elements are produced by quantum mechanical shell closings. Radioactive decay is calculated as well as nuclear penetration and shielding. The geometric attenuation of radiation is studied for personal protection; the use of shielding materials for radiation protection ismore » presented along with the buildup factor that renders the shielding less effective than might be supposed. The process of fission is presented along with the fission products and energies produced by fission. The requirements for producing a sustained chain reactor are discussed. The lecture ends with discussions of how radiation and dose is measured and how dose is converted to measures of the damage of radiation to our bodies.« less