核能[英文版]课件.pptVIP

Nuclear Energy: Some Milestones Natural radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel and Pierre and Marie Curie working with radium in France in 1898 (1903 Nobel Prize in physics). The neutron was discovered in 1932 in England by James Chadwick (1935 Nobel Prize in physics). Enrico Fermi produced the first nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in 1932 (1938 Nobel Prize in physics). The first commercial nuclear electric power plant was placed into operation in 1957 at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Nuclear reactors currently produce 22% of the electricity generated in the U.S. (78% in France). Structure of the Atom Electrons (negatively charged) move in orbits around a central nucleus (positively charged). The nucleus consists of protons (positively charged) and neutrons (no charge). The number of protons determines the chemical element. The number of neutrons determines the isotope of that element. The number of electrons equals the number of protons in a neutral atom (electrons and protons have the same magnitude of charge, but of opposite sign). The nucleus has a diameter of 10-15 m and occupies a very small fraction (10-18) of the volume of an atom (comparable to a speck of chalk dust in a classroom). The proton and neutron have similar mass, which is much larger than that of the electron: Radioactivity Isotopes with a surplus or deficiency of neutrons may be unstable, and undergo spontaneous radioactive decay: α-decay [emission of a helium nucleus (alpha-particle)]. β-decay [emission of an electron or positron from the nucleus (beta particle)]. γ-decay [emission of light (gamma ray or photon) from the nucleus. Alpha and beta decay always result in the formation of a new element, whereas gamma decay does not. Many radioactive isotopes occur naturally on the earth. Radioactive Decay Half-Life An unstable nucleus undergoes radioactive decay naturally at a rate characterized by its lifetime τ Examples of Nuclear Decay Alpha Decay (α-decay) radioactive nucleus