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EM 362 is an
introductory course in the principles of nuclear
engineering. The course is especially valuable
for those interested in a navy nuclear
propulsion career, but is useful for those
students who would like to understand the basic
principles of how a nuclear reactor operates. A
large variety of radiation and nuclear topics
are covered. This first topic covered is atomic
and nuclear models and how this applies to
nuclear reactions and radioactivity. Special
emphasis is placed on understanding fissioning.
The second topic covered is the basics
interactions of different types of radiation
(i.e. neutrons, gammas, charged particles) with
matter. The third topic covered is neutron
transport emitting from both a fissioning and
non-fissioning neutron source. The last topic
covered is understanding the basic principles of
criticality or a self-sustaining neutron chain
reaction. As part of this subject, students
learn how to perform a critical mass calculation
for a nuclear reactor. As each topic is
studied, numerous industrial and military
applications are provided, such as radioisotope
power sources, environmental radioactivity,
radioactivity produced in a nuclear detonation
or power plant operation, nuclear fuel
enrichment technologies, fuel burn-up along with
many other examples. The course is conducted in
the Rickover Hall nucleonics laboratory, where
models of nuclear reactors and a sub-critical
reactor are located. Demonstrations are
provided with these radiation sources during the
course to emphasis various nuclear principles.
Normally one or two guest lecturers are brought
in to speak on current and future issues facing
the commercial nuclear industry. The course
also features the use of the internet to
retrieve nuclear data from national laboratories
or government agencies along with its
integration into basic nuclear calculations.
Specialized software has been integrated into
the course that illustrates principles of how
charged particles interact with matter as well
as the neutron life-cycle in a reactor. The
course consists of three weekly lectures with no
labs. EM 362 emphasizes light water reactor
technology, which is employed by both the navy
and commercial nuclear reactors.
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