Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear engineering is an engineering branch that addresses the application of the fusion of atomic nuclei as well as the application breakdown (fission) or/and other sub-atomic physics applications, based on the nuclear physics principles. In the nuclear fission sub-field, it specifically includes the maintenance and interactions of components and systems such as nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants. Nuclear engineering also includes medical and other applications study of the nuclear safety, nuclear fuel, radiation, heat/thermodynamic transport and other similar technologies like problems of nuclear proliferation and radioactive waste disposal. The US produces about eighteen percent of its electricity from nuclear power plants. In this field, nuclear engineers primarily work, indirectly or directly in the national laboratories or the nuclear power industry. Current research in the industry aims at generating, economical proliferation-resistant reactor designs that have passive safety features.

Nuclear engineering functions

Nuclear engineers carry out several functions includes development, construction and publication, product support, marketing, applied research, basic research and operation. These functions are carried on nuclear power, to other branches of nuclear engineering on lesser degrees with respect to the maturity of the field.

Nuclear engineers undertake these functions for different types of employers that include; architectural engineering firms for which they tackle design, construction supervision, safety analysis, quality assurance project coordination and quality controls. Electric utility companies, for which they address planning, personnel training, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, reactor safety analysis, operational shift operation and in-core nuclear fuel management. They are also involved in industrial and national research laboratories where they carry out applied and basic development and research on a variety of nuclear-related topics. Their other duty is in manufacturing organisations and reactor vendors for which they perform research and manufacture, installation of various components of nuclear systems, design and developments. Regulatory agencies, for which they perform licensing, safety research, research administration, on-site inspection and risk analysis. They are also in Universities where they conduct applied and basic engineering research and teach prospective nuclear engineers.

Significance of nuclear engineering in the future

An ecologically friendly and sufficient cost-efficient source of energy provision is a core problem to people. At the moment, the demand for energy is covered by a great extent by fossil fuels like natural gases, oil and coal. Since the discovery of nuclear fission 50 years ago, its use have become increasingly crucial for the provision of thermal and electrical energy, and the significance of regenerative carriers of energy will still be alleviating in future. To provide the additional amount of energy global efforts are needed. Any economically and available exploitable source will and must be used.