Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy

Nuclear binding energy is the energy required to split a nucleus of an atom into its component parts. The component parts are neutrons and protons, which are collectively called nucleons. The binding energy of nuclei is always a positive number, since all nuclei require net energy to separate them into individual protons and neutrons.

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Nuclear energy

supercriticality

Energy; Nuclear energy

The condition for increasing the level of operation of a reactor. The rate of fission neutron production exceeds all neutron losses, and the overall neutron population increases.

superheating

Energy; Nuclear energy

The heating of a vapor, particularly steam, to a temperature much higher than the boiling point at the existing pressure. This is done in some power plants to improve efficiency and to reduce water ...

survey meter

Energy; Nuclear energy

Any portable radiation detection instrument especially adapted for inspecting an area or individual to establish the existence and amount of radioactive material present.

teletherapy

Energy; Nuclear energy

Treatment in which the source of the therapeutic radiation is at a distance from the body. Because teletherapy is often used to treat malignant tumors deep within the body by bombarding them with a ...

stochastic effects

Energy; Nuclear energy

Effects that occur by chance, generally occurring without a threshold level of dose, whose probability is proportional to the dose and whose severity is independent of the dose. In the context of ...

subcritical mass

Energy; Nuclear energy

An amount of fissionable material insufficient in quantity or of improper geometrical configuration to sustain a fission chain reaction.

subcriticality

Energy; Nuclear energy

The condition of a nuclear reactor system, in which nuclear fuel no longer sustains a fission chain reaction (that is, the reaction fails to initiate its own repetition, as it would in a reactor’s ...