Introduction to Nuclear Engineering

John R. Lamarsh (deceased) was the head of the nuclear engineering department at the Polytechnic Institute of New York (now the New York University Tandon School of Engineering). He was considered an expert on nuclear energy policy and safety, nuclear weapons proliferation, and was appointed administrative judge of the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He served as a consultant to the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Office of Technology Assessment and the Library of Congress. He was the author of many articles and several textbooks, including ''Introduction to Nuclear Engineering'' and ''Nuclear Reactor Theory.''  Anthony Baratta received the B.A/B.S. degrees in physics/applied physics from Columbia University in 1968 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics  from Brown University in 1970 and 1978, respectively. He is Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University retiring in 2003. While at Penn State, his research interests and contributions include reactor safety, reactor kinetics and physics, and the effects of radiation on materials. He has authored many scientific publications and made numerous presentations.  After his retirement he was appointed as the Associate Chief Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission where he served until 2015.  He is currently a part-time judge with the panel and an active member of the American Nuclear Society. He has appeared on many network television and radio broadcasts as an authority on reactor accidents, including the accidents at Three Mile Island and Fukushima.

• 1. Nuclear Engineering 2. Atomic and Nuclear Physics 2.1 Fundamental Particles 2.2 Atomic and Nuclear Structures 2.3 Atomic and Molecular Weights 2.4 Atomic and Nuclear Radii 2.5 Mass and Energy 2.6 Particle Wavelengths 2.7 Excited States and Radiation 2.8 Nuclear Stability and Radioactive Decay 2.9 Radioactivity Calculations 2.10 Nuclear Reactions 2.11 Binding Energy 2.12 Nuclear Models 2.13 Gases, Liquids, and Solids 2.14 Atom Density 3. Interaction of Radiation with Matter 3.1 Neutron Interactions 3.2 Cross Sections 3.3 Neutron Attenuation 3.4 Neutron Flux 3.5 Neutron Cross Section Data 3.6 Energy Loss in Scattering Collisions 3.7 Fission 3.8 y-Ray Interactions with Matter 3.9 Charged Particles 4. Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Power 4.1 The Fission Chain Reaction 4.2 Nuclear Reactor Fuels 4.3 Non-Nuclear Components of Nuclear Power Plants 4.4 Components of Nuclear Reactors 4.5 Power Reactors and Nuclear Steam Supply Systems 4.6 Nuclear Cycles 4.7 Isotope Separation 4.8 Fuel Reprocessing 4.9 Radioactive Waste Disposal 5. Neutron Diffusion and Moderation 5.1 Neutron Flux 5.2 Fick’s Law 5.3 The Equation of Continuity 5.4 The Diffusion Equation 5.5 Boundary Conditions 5.6 Solutions of the Diffusion Equation 5.7 The Diffusion Length 5.8 The Group-Diffusion Method 5.9 Thermal Neutron Diffus