In this blog post, we will introduce how nuclear engineering is applied to everyday life in an easy and interesting way through the three fields of nuclear energy, radiation, and plasma.
The name of my department is Nuclear Engineering. As you can guess from the name, we learn how reactions and technologies related to atomic nuclei are used in engineering. Therefore, in order to understand our department, you must first understand what atomic nuclei are. It is a well-known fact that atoms are the fundamental components of all matter. For example, water is represented by the chemical symbol ‘H2O,’ which means that it consists of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). Atoms are composed of atomic nuclei and electrons. To easily understand their structure, imagine the planets revolving around the sun. In atoms, the nucleus is the sun and the electrons are the planets. The nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Everything we will learn about in our department is related to the nucleus, so this is a very important element.
Our department is divided into three specialisations, all of which can be easily explained in relation to the nucleus. First, the nucleus can be split by impact. This is called nuclear fission, and it generates a lot of energy. The field related to this is nuclear energy. This fission generates radiation, which is invisible to the eye but contains energy. The field that studies this is radiation. Finally, atoms are divided into electrons and atomic nuclei to create new substances called plasma, and the field that studies this is plasma.
The first field I will introduce is nuclear energy. It is my favourite field and accounts for the largest proportion of our department. When you think of nuclear energy, the first thing that comes to mind is a nuclear power plant. It is also the part of our department that I am most proud of. Nuclear power plants are a major source of energy, accounting for 35% of Korea’s energy. However, the only difference between nuclear power plants and other power plants is that they generate heat through nuclear fission. Ultimately, this energy is used to turn turbines and generate electricity. Therefore, other than the energy generation part, there is no difference between nuclear power plants and other power plants.
Therefore, in order to utilise our expertise, we must accurately understand and research and develop the specific parts of the power plant where nuclear fission occurs, namely the reactor core. In addition, uranium, which is used as fuel for nuclear fission, is used in this part of the plant, and because it handles such large amounts of energy, even the slightest possibility of an accident can lead to a major hazard. An accident is not the end of the story, as there is always a risk of radiation leakage. Therefore, safety research is taken much more seriously than in other fields of engineering. In other words, it is a field that constantly studies how to design uranium to efficiently obtain energy and how to safely generate that energy. Due to the nature of our school, we are involved in research that is different from other nuclear-related departments. Therefore, it is unique in that we do not study how to directly operate nuclear power plants.
On the other hand, because our studies are research-oriented, our seniors account for most of the nuclear-related development and innovation in Korea. The second field is radiation. Radiation is produced by the fission of atomic nuclei, as mentioned earlier. You can think of it as the radioactivity we commonly think of.
The general public often thinks of radioactivity as a very dangerous substance, but this is only half true. Radioactivity is actually used in many applications. Medical devices such as X-rays and MRI are easy examples to think of. Radioactivity varies in weight. Therefore, heavy radioactivity collides with matter, while light radioactivity has the property of passing through matter. We are conducting research to create medical devices using these properties. There is also research into how to visualise radioactivity by shooting it and determining its distribution, in order to understand which parts of the body are difficult for radioactivity to penetrate and how this explains the state of the body. In addition, research is being conducted on the dangers of radioactivity and the acceptable levels of exposure. There is still much to learn about radioactivity, so research is continuing. A current issue in this field is the detection of radiation. In order to make nuclear weapons, uranium must be used to create an unnatural atom called plutonium. This process produces radiation, and gamma rays are a type of radiation that can be considered to have no mass. Because they travel very long distances, detecting them can reveal the presence of nuclear weapons. Therefore, countries concerned about national security are researching how to detect radiation and what kind of radiation is emitted in response to certain reactions.
Finally, there is the field of plasma. Plasma is divided into industrial plasma and nuclear fusion plasma. Industrial plasma is used in actual industrial fields. It is often used in precision welding, which is a very useful technology for Korea, which mainly exports semiconductors. Therefore, we are studying how plasma reacts so that it can be applied for practical use. Plasma is a state in which atoms are divided into ions and electrons, so in order to understand its movement, it is necessary to understand electric and magnetic fields. We learn how to handle plasma by understanding the tendency of positive and negative charges to move when electricity or magnetism flows. Working with plasma is not only useful in industry. Plasma is also used in nuclear fusion, which is attracting attention as an energy source of the future. However, unlike plasma used in industry, plasma used in nuclear fusion has extremely high temperatures and densities, which are difficult to maintain. Therefore, the key is how to contain and maintain this plasma. It is estimated that plasma must be maintained for about three hours for practical industrial nuclear fusion to be possible. In fact, K-star, a nuclear fusion research centre in Korea, has maintained plasma at a density suitable for nuclear fusion for three seconds. Although it is difficult to maintain plasma for such a long time, if it can be maintained continuously, nuclear fusion will become possible, so this is a very important technology.
Our department covers the following three areas. As mentioned earlier, these are application areas that have emerged through the use of atomic nuclei. We are pursuing research in all of these areas. In the field of nuclear energy, we are focusing on safety, in the field of radiation, we are focusing on detection, and in the field of plasma, we are focusing on maintenance. To achieve this, continuous research and development is necessary. Therefore, our department strives to provide undergraduate students with a solid foundation in theoretical education and to equip them with all the necessary skills for graduate research. The process of developing innovative technologies through research and putting them into practical use is a series of continuous challenges and achievements. Nuclear engineering is a field that can greatly contribute to solving future energy problems and creating new technologies, and our department is committed to achieving these goals.
