Table Of ContentPergamon
Unified Engineering
Series
B
GENERAL EDITORS
Thomas F. Irvine, Jr.
State University of New York at Stony Brook
James P. Hartnett
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
EDITORS
William F. Hughes
Carnegie-Mellon University
Arthur T. Murphy
Widener College
Daniel Rosenthal
University of California, Los Angeles
SECTIONS
Continuous Media Section
Engineering Design Section
Engineering Systems Section
Humanities and Social Sciences Section
Information Dynamics Section
Materials Engineering Section
Engineering Laboratory Section
Nuclear Energy
An Introduction to the Concepts, Systems, and
Applications of Nuclear Processes
SECOND EDITION (in Sl/metric Units)
Raymond L. Murray
Nuclear Engineering Department,
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27650
USA
PERGAMON PRESS
OXFORD · NEW YORK · BEIJING · FRANKFURT
SÄO PAULO · SYDNEY · TOKYO · TORONTO
U.K. Pergamon Press, Headington Hill Hall,
Oxford 0X3 OBW, England
U.S.A. Pergamon Press, Maxwell House, Fairview Park,
Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A.
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC Pergamon Press, Qianmen Hotel, Beijing,
OF CHINA People's Republic of China
FEDERAL REPUBLIC Pergamon Press, Hammerweg 6,
OF GERMANY D-6242 Kronberg, Federal Republic of Germany
BRAZIL Pergamon Editora, Rua Eça de Queiros, 346,
CEP 04011, Sâo Paulo, Brazil
AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press Australia, P.O. Box 544,
Potts Point, N.S.W. 2011, Australia
JAPAN Pergamon Press, 8th Floor, Matsuoka Central Building,
1-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160, Japan
CANADA Pergamon Press Canada, Suite 104,
150 Consumers Road, Willowdale, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada
Copyright © 1980 R. L. Murray
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
First edition 1975
Second edition 1980
Reprinted (with corrections) 1984
Reprinted 1987
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Murray, Raymond LeRoy
Nuclear energy.—2nd ed.— (Pergamon unified
engineering series; vol. 22).
1. Atomic power
I. Title
621.48 TK9145 79-41701
ISBN 0-08 024751-2 (Hardcover)
ISBN 0-08-024750-4 (Flexicover)
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
To Elizabeth
Preface to the Second Edition
In the period since Nuclear Energy was written, there have been several
significant developments. The Arab oil embargo with its impact on the
availability of gasoline alerted the world to the increasing energy
problem. The nuclear industry has experienced a variety of problems
including difficulty in financing nuclear plants, inflation, inefficiency in
construction, and opposition by various intervening organizations. The
accident at Three Mile Island raised concerns in the minds of the public
and led to a new scrutiny of safety by government and industry.
Two changes in U.S. national administration of nuclear energy have
occurred: (a) the reassignment of responsibilities of the Atomic Energy
Commission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the
Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) which had
a charge to develop all forms of energy, not just nuclear, (b) the absorp
tion of ERDA and the Federal Energy Agency into a new Department of
Energy. Recently, more attention has been paid to the problem of prolif
eration of nuclear weapons, with new views on fuel reprocessing, recy
cling, and the use of the breeder reactor. At the same time, several
nuclear topics have become passé.
The rapidly changing scene thus requires that we update Nuclear
Energy, without changing the original intent as described in the earlier
Preface. In preparing the new version, we note in the text and in the
Appendix the transition in the U.S. to SI units. New values of data on
materials are included, e.g. atomic masses, cross sections, half lives, and
radiations. Some new problems have been added. The Appendix has
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viii Preface to the Second Edition
been expanded to contain useful constants and the answers to most of the
problems. Faculty users are encouraged to secure a copy of the Solution
Manual from the publisher.
Thanks are due Dr. Ephraim Stam for his careful scrutiny of the draft
and for his fine suggestions. Thanks also go to Mary C. Joseph and
Rashid Sultan for capable help with the manuscript.
Raleigh, North Carolina RAYMOND L. MURRAY
Preface to the First Edition
The future of mankind is inextricable from nuclear energy. As the world
population increases and eventually stabilizes, the demands for energy to
assure adequate living conditions will severely tax available resources,
especially those of fossil fuels. New and different sources of energy and
methods of conversion will have to be explored and brought into practical
use. The wise use of nuclear energy, based on understanding of both
hazards and benefits, will be required to meet this challenge to existence.
This book is intended to provide a factual description of basic nuclear
phenomena, to describe devices and processes that involve nuclear
reactions, and to call attention to the problems and opportunities that are
inherent in a nuclear age. It is designed for use by anyone who wishes to
know about the role of nuclear energy in our society or to learn nuclear
concepts for use in professional work.
In spite of the technical complexity of nuclear systems, students who
have taken a one-semester course based on the book have shown a
surprising level of interest, appreciation, and understanding. This re
sponse resulted in part from the selectivity of subject matter and from
efforts to connect basic ideas with the "real world," a goal that all modern
education must seek if we hope to solve the problems facing civilization.
The sequence of presentation proceeds from fundamental facts and
principles through a variety of nuclear devices to the relation between
nuclear energy and peaceful applications. Emphasis is first placed on
energy, atoms and nuclei, and nuclear reactions, with little background
required. The book then describes the operating principles of radiation
equipment, nuclear reactors, and other systems involving nuclear
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x Preface to the First Edition
processes, giving quantitative information wherever possible. Finally,
attention is directed to the subjects of radiation protection, beneficial usage
of radiation, and the connection between energy resources and human
progress.
The author is grateful to Dr. Ephraim Stam for his many suggestions on
technical content, to Drs. Claude G. Poncelet and Albert J. Impink, Jr. for
their careful review, to Christine Baermann for her recommendations on
style and clarity, and to Carol Carroll for her assistance in preparation of
the manuscript.
Raleigh, North Carolina RAYMOND L. MURRAY
The Author
Raymond L. Murray (Ph.D. University of Tennessee) is professor in the
Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University at
Raleigh. His professional interests are in nuclear reactor design analysis,
reactor and radiation safety, and nuclear engineering education.
Dr. Murray is the author of several textbooks in physics and nuclear
technology and has written many research papers in reactor analysis. He
serves as a consultant to the nuclear industry. Dr. Murray's career in the
nuclear field began in 1942 with the Manhattan Project at Berkeley and
continued at Oak Ridge. In 1950 he helped found the first university
nuclear engineering programs. He is Fellow of the American Physical
Society and of the American Nuclear Society and is a member of several
other scientific and engineering societies.
xix
Part I Basic Concepts
In the study of the practical applications of nuclear energy, we must take
account of the properties of individual particles of matter—their "micro
scopic" features—as well as the character of matter in its ordinary form, a
"macroscopic" (large-scale) view. Examples of the small-scale properties
are masses of atoms or nuclear particles, their effective sizes for
interaction with each other, or the number of particles in a certain
volume. The combined behavior of large numbers of individual particles is
expressed in terms of properties such as mass density, charge density,
electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and elastic constants. We
continually seek consistency between the microscopic and macroscopic
views.
Since all processes involve interactions of particles, it is necessary that
we develop a background of understanding of the basic physical facts and
principles that govern such interactions. In Part I, we shall examine the
concept of energy, describe the models of atomic and nuclear structure,
discuss radioactivity and nuclear reactions in general, review the ways
radiation reacts with matter, and concentrate on two important nuclear
processes—fission and fusion.
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