Nuclear engineering (source code)

= Nuclear engineering

<Nuclear engineering> designs and studies systems that use <nuclear reactions> or manage materials with <radioactivity>. Its subjects include <nuclear reactors>, <radiation detection>, <radiation shielding>, <nuclear fuel>, the behaviour of structural materials under <irradiation>, and <radioactive waste> management.

A <nuclear power plant> shows why several areas of <engineering> must work together. <Nuclear fission> releases <energy>; a coolant transports the resulting <heat>; a <heat engine> converts part of that <heat> to mechanical <work>; an <electrical generator> produces electrical <energy>. In a <pressurized water reactor>, a <heat exchanger> transfers <heat> from the pressurized reactor coolant to a separate circuit that produces <steam>. Thus <neutron physics>, <heat transfer>, <fluid mechanics> and <materials science> constrain the same design.<Nuclear 101: How Does a Nuclear Reactor Work? by the United States Department of Energy>[Nuclear Fission Creates Heat; Pressurized Water Reactors]{ref}