Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century: The World Nuclear University Primer

Foreword by Dr. Patrick Moore Introduction 1 Energy use 1.1 Sources of energy 1.2 Sustainability of energy 1.3 Energy demand 1.4 Energy supply 1.5 Changes in energy demand and supply 1.6 Future energy demand and supply 2 Electricity today and tomorrow 2.1 Electricity demand 2.2 Electricity supply 2.3 Fuels for electricity generation today 2.4 Provision for future base-load electricity 2.5 Renewable energy sources 2.6 Coal and uranium compared 2.7 Energy inputs to generate electricity 2.8 Economic factors 3 Nuclear power and its fuels 3.1 Mass to energy in the reactor core 3.2 Nuclear power reactors - basic design Panel: Components common to most types of nuclear reactors 3.3 Uranium availability 3.4 Nuclear weapons as a source of fuel 3.5 Thorium as a nuclear fuel 3.6 Accelerator-driven systems 3.7 Physics of a nuclear reactor 4 Types of nuclear power reactors 4.1 Today's power reactors 4.2 Advanced power reactors 4.3 Floating nuclear power plant 4.4 Modular light water reactors 4.5 High temperature reactors 4.6 Fast neutron reactors 4.7 Very small nuclear power reactors 5 The 'front end' of the nuclear fuel cycle 5.1 Mining and milling of uranium ore 5.2 The nuclear fuel cycle Panel: Uranium enrichment 5.3 Thorium cycle 6 The 'back end' of the nuclear fuel cycle 6.1 Nuclear 'wastes' 6.2 Reprocessing used fuel 6.3 High-level wastes from reprocessing Panel: Transporting radioactive materials 6.4 Storage and disposal of used fuel 6.5 Disposal of solidified wastes 6.6 Decommissioning nuclear reactors 7 Other nuclear energy applications 7.1 Transport 7.2 Hydrogen production and use 7.3 Process heat 7.4 Desalination 7.5 Marine propulsion 7.6 Radioisotope systems and reactors for space 7.7 Research reactors, making radioisotopes 8 Environment, health and safety 8.1 Greenhouse gas emissions 8.2 Other environmental effects 8.3 Health effects of power generation 8.4 Radiation exposure 8.5 Reactor safety 9 Avoiding weapons proliferation 9.1 International cooperation 9.2 International nuclear safeguards 9.3 Fissile materials 9.4 Recycling military uranium and plutonium for electricity 9.5 Australian and Canadian nuclear safeguards policies 10 History of nuclear energy 10.1 Exploring the nature of the atom 10.2 Harnessing nuclear fission 10.3 Nuclear physics in Russia 10.4 Conceiving the atomic bomb 10.5 Developing the concepts: bomb and boiler 10.6 The Manhattan Project 10.7 The Soviet bomb 10.8 Revival of the 'nuclear boiler' 10.9 Nuclear energy goes commercial 10.10 The nuclear power brown-out 10.11 Nuclear renaissance Appendices: 1. Ionising radiation and how it is measured 2. Some radioactive decay series 3. Environmental and ethical aspects of radioactive waste management 4. Some useful references Glossary Index