Series in Fundamental and Applied Nuclear Physics – serie

The application of nuclear physics methods is now widespread throughout physics, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, clinical medicine, geology, and archaeology. Accelerators, reactors, and various instruments that have developed together with nuclear physics have often been found to offer the basis for increasingly productive and more sensitive analytical techniques.Nuclear Methods in Science and Technology provides scientists and engineers with a clear understanding of the basic principles of nuclear methods and their potential for applications in a wide range of disciplines.The first part of the book covers the major points of basic theory and experimental methods of nuclear physics, emphasizing concepts and simple models that give a feel for the behavior of real systems. Using many examples, the second part illustrates the extraordinary possibilities offered by nuclear methods. It covers the Mossbauer effect, slow neutron physics, activation analysis, radiography, nuclear geochronology, channeling effects, nuclear microprobe, and numerous other topics in modern applied nuclear physics. The book explores applications such as tomography, the use of short-lived isotopes in clinical diagnoses, and nuclear physics in ecology and agriculture. Where alternative nonnuclear analytical techniques are available, the author compares the relevant nuclear method, enabling readers to judge which technique may be most useful for them.Complete with a bibliography and extensive reference list for readers who want to delve deeper into a particular topic, this book applies various methods of nuclear physics to a wide range of disciplines.

The application of nuclear physics methods is now widespread throughout physics, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, clinical medicine, geology, and archaeology. Accelerators, reactors, and various instruments that have developed together with nuclear physics have often been found to offer the basis for increasingly productive and more sensitive analytical techniques.Nuclear Methods in Science and Technology provides scientists and engineers with a clear understanding of the basic principles of nuclear methods and their potential for applications in a wide range of disciplines.The first part of the book covers the major points of basic theory and experimental methods of nuclear physics, emphasizing concepts and simple models that give a feel for the behavior of real systems. Using many examples, the second part illustrates the extraordinary possibilities offered by nuclear methods. It covers the Mossbauer effect, slow neutron physics, activation analysis, radiography, nuclear geochronology, channeling effects, nuclear microprobe, and numerous other topics in modern applied nuclear physics. The book explores applications such as tomography, the use of short-lived isotopes in clinical diagnoses, and nuclear physics in ecology and agriculture. Where alternative nonnuclear analytical techniques are available, the author compares the relevant nuclear method, enabling readers to judge which technique may be most useful for them.Complete with a bibliography and extensive reference list for readers who want to delve deeper into a particular topic, this book applies various methods of nuclear physics to a wide range of disciplines.

This book describes the basic knowledge in nuclear, neutron, and reactor physics necessary for understanding the principle and implementation of accelerator driven subcritical nuclear reactors (ADSRs), also known as hybrid reactors.Since hybrid reactors may contribute to future nuclear energy production, the book begins with a discussion of the general energy problem. It proceeds by developing the elementary physics of neutron reactors, including the basic nuclear physics involved. The book then presents computational methods, with special emphasis on Monte Carlo methods. It examines the specifics of ADSR, starting from the neutron spallation source to safety features. A thorough discussion is given on the size of hybrid reactors, which follows very different constraints from that of critical reactors. The possibility to optimize the source importance is examined in detail. The discussion of the fuel evolution follows with its relevance to safety and to the waste production and incineration. The conditions for having a constant reactivity over sufficiently long lapse of time are also discussed. The book also evaluates a number of practical designs that have been proposed. Finally, the last chapter deals with the examination of proposed and possible waste transmutation policies and the role which could be played by ADSR in this context. The potential advantage of the Thorium cycle is discussed as well as different scenarios that could be used to implement it.

Statistical Models for Nuclear Decay: From Evaporation to Vaporization describes statistical models that are applied to the decay of atomic nuclei, emphasizing highly excited nuclei usually produced using heavy ion collisions. The first two chapters present essential introductions to statistical mechanics and nuclear physics, followed by a description of the historical developments, beginning with the application of the Bohr hypothesis by Weisskopf in 1937. This chapter covers fusion, fission, and the Hauser-Festbach theory. The next chapter applies the Hauser-Festbach theory using Monte Carlo methods and presents important experimental results. Subsequent chapters discuss nuclear decay at high excitation energies, including the theories and experimental results for sequential binary division, multifragmentation, and vaporization. The final chapter provides a short summary and discusses possible paths for further research.