Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide, some 439 nuclear reactors in 31 countries generate 10 percent of the world's energy through nuclear fission. In the future, it is expected that nuclear fusion will add another nuclear means of generating energy. Both reactions make use of the nuclear binding energy released when atomic nucleons are either separated (fission) or brought together (fusion). The energy available is given by the binding energy curve, and the amount generated is much greater than that generated through chemical reactions. Fission of 1 gram of uranium yields as much energy as burning 3 tons of coal or 600 gallons of fuel oil, without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
History Nuclear engineering was born in 1938, with the discovery of nuclear fission. The first artificial nuclear reactor, CP-1, was designed by a team of physicists who were concerned that Nazi Germany might also be seeking to build a bomb based on nuclear fission. (The earliest known nuclear reaction on Earth occurred naturally, 1.7 billion years ago, in Oklo, Gabon, Africa.) The second artificial nuclear reactor, the X-10 Graphite Reactor, was also a part of the Manhattan Project, as were the plutonium-producing reactors of the Hanford Engineer Works.
The first nuclear reactor to generate electricity was Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I), which did so near Arco, Idaho, in 1951 on December 20. EBR-I was a standalone facility, not connected to a grid, but a later Idaho research reactor in the BORAX series did briefly supply power to the town of Arco in 1955.
The first commercial nuclear power plant, built to be connected to an electrical grid, is the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, which began operation in 1954. The second is the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, which produced electricity in 1957.
For a chronology, from the discovery of uranium to the current era, see Outline History of Nuclear Energy or History of Nuclear Power. Also see History of Nuclear Engineering Part 1: Radioactivity, Part 2: Building the Bomb, and Part 3: Atoms for Peace.
See List of Commercial Nuclear Reactors for a comprehensive listing of nuclear power reactors and IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) for worldwide and country-level statistics on nuclear power generation.
Sub-disciplines Nuclear engineers work in such areas as the following: Nuclear reactor design, which has evolved from the Generation I, proof-of concept, reactors of the 1950s and 1960s, to Generation II, Generation III, and Generation IV concepts Nuclear reactor physics, which deals with the applied study and engineering applications of neutron diffusion and fission chain reaction to induce a controlled fission rate in a nuclear reactor for energy production Thermal hydraulics and heat transfer. In a typical nuclear power plant, heat generates steam that drives a steam turbine and an electric generator that produces electricity Materials science as it relates to nuclear power applications Managing the nuclear fuel cycle, in which fissile material is obtained, formed into fuel, removed when depleted, and safely stored or reprocessed Nuclear propulsion, mainly for military naval vessels, but there have been concepts for aircraft and missiles. Nuclear power has been used in space since the 1960s Plasma physics, which is integral to the development of fusion power Weapons development and management Generation of radionuclides, which have applications in industry, medicine, and many other areas Nuclear waste management Health physics Nuclear medicine and Medical Physics Nuclear criticality safety Health and safety Instrumentation and control engineering Process engineering Project Management Quality engineering Reactor operations Nuclear security (detection of clandestine nuclear materials) Nuclear engineering even has a role in criminal investigation, and agriculture.
Many chemical, electrical and mechanical and other types of engineers also work in the nuclear industry, as do many scientists and support staff. In the U.S., nearly 100,000 people directly work in the nuclear industry. Including secondary sector jobs, the number of people supported by the U.S. nuclear industry is 475,000.
Employment In the United States, nuclear engineers are employed as follows: Electric power generation 25% Federal government 18% Scientific research and development 15% Engineering services 5% Manufacturing 10% Other areas 27%
Job prospects for nuclear engineers worldwide are not available, but the IAEA estimates that nuclear energy capacity will grow by 40% (an additional 514 GW(e)) to 2.5 times current capacity (an additional 950 GW(e)) by 2050. Countries with existing nuclear energy capacity and those actively exploring nuclear energy are listed in the following.
Country Nuclear capabilitiesAlgeria See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Argentina See Nuclear Power in Argentina.Armenia See Nuclear Power in Armenia.Australia See nuclear sector and Australia's Uranium.Austria "Austria operates one central radioactive waste management and interim storage facility – Nuclear Engineering Seibersdorf GmbH (NES) for pre-disposal management including treatment, conditioning and interim storage of low- and intermediate level radioactive waste (LILW)." Nuclear Engineering Seibersdorf GmbH (NES) collects, processes, conditions, and stores radioactive waste and does decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities for the Republic of Austria.Azerbaijan See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Bangladesh See WNA:Bangladesh and Nuclear Power in Bangladesh.Belarus See WNA:Belarus and Nuclear Power in Belarus.Belgium See Nuclear Power in Belgium and nuclear sector.Bolivia See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Botswana See WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.Brazil See nuclear sector and Nuclear activities in Brazil.Bulgaria See nuclear sector and Nuclear Power in Bulgaria.Burundi See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Cambodia See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Canada WNA: Nuclear Power in Canada, nuclear sector, and Nuclear Power in Canada.Central African Republic See WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.Chile See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.China See WNA:Nuclear Power in China, and Nuclear Power in China.Congo, Democratic Republic See WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.Croatia See WNA:Nuclear Power in Slovenia and Nuclear Power in Croatia.Czech Republic See WNA: Nuclear Power in Czech Republic and Nuclear Power in the Czech Republic.CubaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.DenmarkSee WNA:Nuclear Energy in Denmark and Nuclear Power in Denmark.EcuadorSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.EgyptSee Start of construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant and El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.Equatorial Guinea See WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.EstoniaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.EthiopiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.FinlandSee WPA:Nuclear Power in Finland and Nuclear Power in Finland.FranceSee WPA:Nuclear Power in France and Nuclear Power in France.GabonSee WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.GeorgiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.GermanySee WPA:Nuclear Power in Germany and Nuclear Power in Germany.GhanaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.GreeceSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.GuineaSee WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in AfricaGuyanaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.HungarySee WNA:Nuclear Power in Hungary and Nuclear Power in Hungary.IndiaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in India and Nuclear Power in India.IndonesiaSee WNPA:Nuclear Power in Indonesia and Nuclear Power in Indonesia.IranSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Iran and Nuclear Power in Iran.IsraelSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.ItalySee WNA:Nuclear Power in Italy and Nuclear Power in Italy.Japan See WNA:Nuclear Power in Japan and Nuclear Power in Japan.JordanSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Jordan and Nuclear Power in Jordan.Kazakhstan See WNA:Uranium and Nuclear Power in Kazakhstan and Nuclear Power in Kazakhstan.Kenya See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Korea, NorthSee Nuclear power in North Korea.Korea, SouthSee WNA:Nuclear Power in South Korea and Nuclear Power in South Korea.Kyrgyzstan See WNA:Uranium in Kyrgyzstan.LaosSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.LatviaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Lithuania See WNA:Nuclear Power in Lithuania and Nuclear Power in Lithuania.Malawi See WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.MalaysiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.MaliSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.MauritaniaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Mexico See WNA:Nuclear Power in Mexico and Nuclear Power in Mexico.MongoliaSee WNA:Uranium in Mongolia.MoroccoSee WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.MyanmarSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.NamibiaSee WNA:Uranium in Namibia.NetherlandsSee WNA:Nuclear Power in the Netherlands and Nuclear Power in the Netherlands.New ZealandSee WNA:Nuclear Energy Prospects in New Zealand.NigerSee WNA:Uranium in Niger.NigeriaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.NorwaySee Nuclear power in Norway.OmanSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.PakistanSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Pakistan and Nuclear Power in Pakistan.ParaguaySee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.PeruSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.PhilippinesSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.PolandSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Poland and Nuclear Power in Poland.RomaniaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Romania and Nuclear Power in Romania.RussiaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Russia and Nuclear Power in Russia.RwandaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.Saudi ArabiaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Saudi Arabia and Nuclear Power in Saudi Arabia.SenegalSee WNA: Uranium in Africa and Uranium in Africa.SerbiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.SingaporeSee Singapore is considering the nuclear option for its energy transition... again.SlovakiaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Slovakia and Nuclear Power in Slovakia.SloveniaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Slovenia and Nuclear Power in Slovenia.South AfricaSee WNA:Nuclear Power in South Africa and Nuclear Power in South Africa.SpainSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Spain and Nuclear Power in Spain.Sri LankaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.SudanSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.SwedenSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Sweden and Nuclear Power in Sweden.SwitzerlandSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Switzerland and Nuclear Power in Switzerland.SyriaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.TaiwanSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Taiwan and Nuclear Power in Taiwan.TajikistanSee WNA:Uranium in Tajikistan.TanzaniaSee WNA:Uranium in Africa.Thailand See Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.TunisiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.TurkeySee WNA:Nuclear Power in Turkey and Nuclear Power in Turkey.UgandaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.UkraineSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Ukraine and Nuclear Power in UkraineUnited Arab EmiratesSee WNA:Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates and Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates.United KingdomSee WNA:Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom and Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom.United StatesSee WNA:Nuclear Power in the USA and Nuclear Power in the USA.Uzbekistan See WNA:Uranium in Uzbekistan.VenezuelaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.VietnamSee WNA:Nuclear Power in Vietnam and Nuclear Power in Vietnam.YemenSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.ZambiaSee Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.ZimbabweSee WNA:Uranium in Africa.
Education Organizations that provide study and training in nuclear engineering include the following: