- Industry: Government
- Number of terms: 11131
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
One of three units used to measure radioactivity, which refers to the amount of ionizing radiation released when an element (such as uranium) spontaneously emits energy as a result of the radioactive decay (or disintegration) of an unstable atom. Radioactivity is also the term used to describe the rate at which radioactive material emits radiation, or how many atoms in the material decay (or disintegrate) in a given time period. As such, 1 Bq represents a rate of radioactive decay equal to 1 disintegration per second, and 37 billion (3. 7 x 1010) Bq equals 1 curie (Ci).
Industry:Energy
A way to express the context of a Bayesian estimation in which initial data are updated as new data become available.
Industry:Energy
A mathematical formulation, using Bayes' theorem, by which the likelihood of an event can be estimated taking explicit consideration of certain contextual features (such as amount of data, nature of decision, etc. ).
Industry:Energy
The natural radiation that is always present in the environment. It includes cosmic radiation which comes from the sun and stars, terrestrial radiation which comes from the Earth, and internal radiation which exists in all living things. The typical average individual exposure in the United States from natural background sources is about 300 millirems per year. For additional information, see Natural Background Sources and Doses in Our Daily Lives.
Industry:Energy
The average value of the linear heat generation rate of all the fuel rods at any given horizontal plane along a fuel assembly (also known as a "fuel bundle" or "fuel element").
Industry:Energy
Backup water supply used during nuclear plant startup and shutdown to supply water to the steam generators during accident conditions for removing decay heat from the reactor.
Industry:Energy
A building at a nuclear power plant, which is frequently located adjacent to the reactor containment structure, and houses most of the auxiliary and safety systems associated with the reactor, such as radioactive waste systems, chemical and volume control systems, and emergency cooling water systems.
Industry:Energy
The process by which the number of particles or photons entering a body of matter is reduced by absorption and scattered radiation.
Industry:Energy
The energy that is released through a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay process. Of particular interest is the process known as fission, which occurs in a nuclear reactor and produces energy usually in the form of heat. In a nuclear power plant, this heat is used to boil water in order to produce steam that can be used to drive large turbines. This, in turn, activates generators to produce electrical power. Atomic energy is more correctly called nuclear energy.
Industry:Energy
