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Related Concept Videos

Nuclear Power02:36

Nuclear Power

Controlled nuclear fission reactions are used to generate electricity. Any nuclear reactor that produces power via the fission of uranium or plutonium by bombardment with neutrons has six components: nuclear fuel consisting of fissionable material, a nuclear moderator, a neutron source, control rods, reactor coolant, and a shield and containment system.
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...
Nuclear Fission02:50

Nuclear Fission

Many heavier elements with smaller binding energies per nucleon can decompose into more stable elements that have intermediate mass numbers and larger binding energies per nucleon—that is, mass numbers and binding energies per nucleon that are closer to the “peak” of the binding energy graph near 56. Sometimes neutrons are also produced. This decomposition of a large nucleus into smaller pieces is called fission. The breaking is rather random with the formation of a large number of different...
Nuclear Fusion02:45

Nuclear Fusion

The process of converting very light nuclei into heavier nuclei is also accompanied by the conversion of mass into large amounts of energy, a process called fusion. The principal source of energy in the sun is a net fusion reaction in which four hydrogen nuclei fuse and ultimately produce one helium nucleus and two positrons.
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
Nuclear Transmutation03:20

Nuclear Transmutation

Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one nuclide into another. It can occur by the radioactive decay of a nucleus, or the reaction of a nucleus with another particle. The first manmade nucleus was produced in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory in 1919 by a transmutation reaction, the bombardment of one type of nuclei with other nuclei or with neutrons. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen-14 atoms with high-speed α particles from a natural radioactive isotope of radium and observed protons being...
Radioactivity and Nuclear Equations03:18

Radioactivity and Nuclear Equations

Nuclear chemistry is the study of reactions that involve changes in nuclear structure. The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and, except for hydrogen, neutrons. The number of protons in the nucleus is called the atomic number (Z) of the element, and the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons is the mass number (A). Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are isotopes of the same element.
A nuclide of an element has a specific number of protons and...
Nuclear Stability03:18

Nuclear Stability

Protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are packed together tightly in a nucleus. With a radius of about 10−15 meters, a nucleus is quite small compared to the radius of the entire atom, which is about 10−10 meters. Nuclei are extremely dense compared to bulk matter, averaging 1.8 × 1014 grams per cubic centimeter. If the earth’s density were equal to the average nuclear density, the earth’s radius would be only about 200 meters.
To hold positively charged protons together in the...

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Updated: May 24, 2026

Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
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Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Published on: December 14, 2017

Nuclear fuel in a reactor accident.

Peter C Burns1, Rodney C Ewing, Alexandra Navrotsky

  • 1Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 156 Fitzpatrick Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. pburns@nd.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 10, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Understanding nuclear fuel corrosion after accidents is crucial. Research is needed to predict radionuclide release from damaged nuclear fuel in various environments, especially concerning long-term waste disposal.

Area of Science:

  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Environmental Science
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Nuclear accidents can create heterogeneous materials with numerous radionuclides.
  • Long-lived fission products and transuranium elements in damaged nuclear fuel pose risks for millennia.
  • Current models for predicting radionuclide release from damaged fuel, especially in contact with water, are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of nuclear fuel interactions with the environment.
  • To identify knowledge gaps regarding fuel corrosion and radionuclide release under accident conditions.
  • To discuss research priorities for developing predictive models for radionuclide release.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on nuclear fuel interactions with geochemical, hydrological, and radiation environments.

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Production of Synthetic Nuclear Melt Glass
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  • Analysis of existing knowledge on fuel corrosion and radionuclide release under extreme conditions.
  • Identification of research needs for future predictive modeling.

    • Main Results:

    • Current understanding of nuclear fuel interactions with the environment is limited, particularly under accident conditions.
    • Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding fuel corrosion and radionuclide release under extreme chemical, radiation, and thermal stresses.
    • Existing studies primarily focus on environments relevant to geological repository performance, a narrow range compared to accident scenarios.

    Conclusions:

    • Accurate fundamental models for predicting radionuclide release from damaged nuclear fuel are currently limited.
    • Further research is essential to understand fuel corrosion and radionuclide release under the extreme conditions of nuclear accidents.
    • Priorities include developing predictive models that account for diverse environmental interactions to ensure long-term safety.