What is nuclear engineering?

Nuclear engineering is a field in which nuclear engineers work with radiation and radioactive materials for designing processes and developing their use in energy, industry and nuclear medicine. Those who work in nuclear engineering industry solve problems in the real world, such as nuclear waste management, protocols of reaction to nuclear power plant accidents and how radiation can effectively treat cancer. People who work in nuclear engineering industry have undergone extensive training and have a high ability for advanced mathematics, chemistry and physics. Within nuclear engineering, there are many different specialized areas, including nuclear energy production, the medical use of nuclear energy and the impact of environmental nuclear by -products.

Since the end of the 19th century, engineers have imagined a variety of uses for energy stored in atoms, including the use of steam produced by nuclear energy, to turn turbines and produce electricity. In 1957, the first nuclear power plantShe started to operate in full. In 1984, the amount of electricity produced by nuclear energy, which generated hydroelectric power, exceeded, and in 2011 there are 109 nuclear power plants in the US that generate 610 billion kilowatt hours of electricity.

In the world of medicine, nuclear energy is used in applications ranging from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cancer treatment and surgery using nuclear gamma knife. While the early types of radiation therapy have caused unnecessary damage to the surrounding tissues, doctors can now accurately place the exact amount of radiation needed to kill tumors without damaging other vital tissues and organs. The focused radiation used in the gamma knife allow surgeons to perform a non -invasive medical procedure and treat tumors deep in the body. Other nuclear medical devices include stereotactic facilities, laser beams and linear accelerators that target and treat patientswithout surgery. One third of all medical procedures in the US uses some type of technique developed by nuclear engineering.

Environmental preservation is also an important part of nuclear engineering. There are many national and international agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA), which have the task of overseeing and disposing of nuclear materials. Organizations such as the Nuclear Energy Institute protect the environment by working with other organizations to develop methods and procedures for safe processing of dangerous nuclear waste produced by nuclear energy production. Other nuclear engineers are working on the design of safer devices for a nuclear power plant, developing new safety protocols that prevent and process random contamination, and finding new methods of nuclear waste disposal.