- Industry: Government
- Number of terms: 11131
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A term applied to the amount of some type of particle (neutrons, alpha particles, etc. ) or energy (photons, heat, etc. ) crossing a unit area per unit time. The unit of flux is the number of particles, energy, etc. , per square centimeter per second.
Industry:Energy
Commonly used as a synonym for fissile material, this term has been extended to include material that can be fissioned by fast neutrons, such as uranium-238.
Industry:Energy
The nuclei (fission fragments) formed by the fission of heavy elements, plus the nuclide formed by the fission fragments' radioactive decay.
Industry:Energy
Those fission products that exist in the gaseous state. In nuclear power reactors, this includes primarily the noble gases, such as krypton and xenon.
Industry:Energy
A nuclide that is capable of undergoing fission after capturing low-energy thermal (slow) neutrons. Although sometimes used as a synonym for fissionable material, this term has acquired its more-restrictive interpretation with the limitation that the nuclide must be fissionable by thermal neutrons. With that interpretation, the three primary fissile materials are uranium-233, uranium-235, and plutonium-239. This definition excludes natural uranium and depleted uranium that have not been irradiated, or have only been irradiated in thermal reactors.
Industry:Energy
The splitting of an atom, which releases a considerable amount of energy (usually in the form of heat) that can be used to produce electricity. Fission may be spontaneous, but is usually caused by the nucleus of an atom becoming unstable (or “heavy” after capturing or absorbing a neutron. During fission, the heavy nucleus splits into roughly equal parts, producing the nuclei of at least two lighter elements. In addition to energy, this reaction usually releases gamma radiation and two or more daughter neutrons.
Industry:Energy
The 12-month period from October 1 through September 30 used by the Federal Government for budget formulation and execution. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, FY 2009 runs from October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009.
Industry:Energy
Photographic film used to measure exposure to ionizing radiation for purposes of personnel monitoring. The film badge may contain two or three films of differing sensitivities, and it may also contain a filter that shields part of the film from certain types of radiation.
Industry:Energy
A material, which is not itself fissile (fissionable by thermal neutrons), that can be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor. There are two basic fertile materials: uranium-238 and thorium-232. When these fertile materials capture neutrons, they are converted into fissile plutonium-239 and uranium-233, respectively.
Industry:Energy
Water supplied to the reactor pressure vessel in a boiling-water reactor (BWR) or the steam generator in a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) that removes heat from the reactor fuel rods by boiling and becoming steam. The steam becomes the driving force for the plant’s turbine generator.
Industry:Energy
