Talk:Nuclear engineering

This article reads like a brochure, and excessively uses first-person pronouns to refer to nuclear engineers. Needs a major overhaul. Cleanup template added. - Forteblast 18:57, 7 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Cleanup process

I have begun a major cleanup of this article. I added a few parts to the introduction that were hanging in the middle of the article. I also broke a chunk of the mass of central text to make a section concerning university training. I am not finished with the university training section yet.

I made the remaining mass of central text invisible to readers but not to editors. I will later organize this text if no one else gets to it first.

I will also add a listing of premier undergraduate and graduate programs throughout the U.S. and the world. Help with adding programs outside of the U.S. would be great since i am not familiar with these (except for Canada). — oo64eva (Alex) ^{(U | T | C)} @ 00:55, 2 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Great start Alex, and long overdue. DV8 2XL 00:56, 2 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I've put in a list format for US colleges, links to their departments, and degrees offered. It might take some time before I have enough of it to complete this list, so if any one wants to add to it, go for it. Also, I'm not sure lists will work better than tables would for this information. Any ideas on a better way of presenting this info? Lcolson

Chunk of information

Below is the big chunk of information that i removed from the main page. I don't see how giving a mini lecture on basic nuclear physics is of any help to the article but if anyone can find a place for this information give it a shot. — oo64eva (Alex) ^{(U | T | C)} @ 03:48, 2 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The nucleus is the center of the atom and can consist of neutrons and protons. The strong nuclear force is what keeps the nucleus bound together, while the weak nuclear force is responsible for certain types of radioactive decay. Just like the electrons in the atomic shell model, the nucleus exhibits quanta which also result in a nuclear shell model. That is, there are specific energy levels in the nucleus where certain reactions are likely to occur.

Radiation is anything which "radiates" away from the atom. We commonly classify the most common types as alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Alpha radiation consists of alpha particles which are basically just fully ionized helium nuclei. They contain 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Beta radiation consists of beta particles which are either an electron or a positron (the anti-matter equivalent of an electron). Gamma radiation is a very high energy photon.

Neutrons are most important in fission-based nuclear reactions since they are neutral and will not lose their energy except through collisions. The cross-section of the target nucleus is also vitally important.

Radiation existed long before nuclear engineers. We are surrounded by it owing to the fact that the solar system itself is the remnants of a much earlier star. The fusion reactions inside the star created all the elements in the periodic table (in nuclear engineering we use the Chart Of The Nuclides which takes into account all the isotopes) and most of these were radioactive. It is estimated that life took as long as it took to appear because the Earth had to 'cool off' radioactively. Also, our part of the galaxy is far enough away from the turbulent galactic center to avoid the frequent gamma ray bursts which would destroy life.