Nuclear Vault

I have a Bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and am a licensed reactor operator. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

[nuclearfriendsfoundation-blog]

#Contest #Uranium contest is on, invest your learning and get a chance to win exciting gifts. Reach us @ www.nuclearfriendsfoundation.com

[kim-jong-chill]

nick hates me lmao

[nuclearvault]

LOL!

[nuclearvault]

Hello!! I'm a junior in high school, and soon I will have to sign up for classes to take in my senior year. In the future, I'd like to work in a job similar to yours, and I'm very nervous that I'll end up taking classes that won't help me towards that goal. I'm okay with taking some AP classes, but I get overwhelmed and sometimes struggle with them. Which subjects/classes do you think I should be focusing on right now? Thank you so much for your time!!!

I would recommend courses like biology, chemistry, physics, and calculus. Whether or not you choose to take the AP courses is a personal preference, but they do look good on transcripts!

[nuclearvault]

[nuclearvault]

What is a nuclear vault ?

It's just the name of this blog, lol.

[nuclearvault]

Around how much do you make monthly?

Approximately $8,500-$9,000. Pay is experienced-based.

[kim-jong-chill]

sometimes i want to just give up nuclear power careers and work at mcdonald’s or something bc all of this is bullshit and i hate it lmao

[nuclearvault]

Don't give up! We need you!

[kim-jong-chill]

Wunderland Kalkar

In 1972, construction on what was going to be Germany’s first fast breeder reactor, SNR-300, began in North Rhine-Westphalia. The reactor was designed to use plutonium as fuel, be cooled by sodium, and output around 327 megawatts of energy. At the time, fast breeder reactors were still a very new and strange technology, but Germany was determined to limit importing energy and, since the uranium supply in the country was very limited, a breeder facility to use the limited resources as efficiently as possible was required.

In 1979, disaster struck at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, causing one of its two reactors to experience a partial meltdown. By that time, public protests of the facility in Germany reached new heights, but despite the opposition, construction continued and the facility was completed in 1985. By that time, roughly USD $4,000,000,000 had been spent on the facility. In 1986, disaster struck again, this time at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. One of its 4 completed reactors exploded, underwent a total meltdown, and spewed radioactive waste across Europe for 10 days while its graphite moderators were on fire. Following this disaster, SNR-300 never came online and the project was officially cancelled in 1991.

Completely unused, the facility was considered one of the most expensive and complicated pieces of trash in the world. A Dutch investor purchased the grounds, reportedly for USD $3,000,000,000. He left the reactor building where it was, and built an amusement park around it. On the outer face of its cooling tower is a climbing wall, and a swing ride is housed within the cooling tower. Wunderland Kalkar receives around 600,000 visitors per year.

[nuclearvault]

if you sent me a message recently...

I will try my best to answer all of the questions you've asked but I'm on a rigorous work schedule right now. Thank you!

[scientificphilosopher]

A nuclear reactor being forged.

via: reddit

[kim-jong-chill]

Survival Town had it all: homes, buildings, electrical substations and people… Well, fake people. Life-size mannequins from J.C. Penney, to be exact. 

During the first half of 1955, the United States’ Department of Defense conducted a series of 14 nuclear test explosions at the Nevada Test Site. One blast in particular, Apple-2 (yield 29 kilotons), was intended to test various building construction types in the event of a nuclear blast. An assortment of buildings, including residential homes and various other structures, were constructed at the site nicknamed “Survival Town”. Buildings were populated with mannequins and stocked with different types of canned and packaged foods. On a somewhat strange note, the Army posed the mannequins in the acts of playing, eating, and so on; then left cameras on to record the “fun” that was about to ensue.

[kim-jong-chill]

[nuclearvault]

What's your header image of???

The Z Pulsed Power Facility, or Z Machine, at Sandia National Lab.

[nuclearvault]

Chernobyl Sarcophagus

[nuclearvault]

If you're considering a future in the nuclear industry but don't know where to start education-wise, check out some of these links.

There are a lot of really great (and free) resources online for learning/reviewing purposes, so I’ve compiled a list of some if anyone is interested.

Department of Energy Fundamentals Handbook: Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory Volumes 1 and 2

Department of Energy Fundamentals Handbook: Material Science Volumes 1 and 2

Department of Energy Fundamentals Handbook: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow Volumes 1, 2, and 3

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Power Plant Engineering (Part 1 of 4)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Power Plant Engineering (Part 2 of 4)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Power Plant Engineering (Part 3 of 4)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Power Plant Engineering (Part 4 of 4)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Reactor Concepts Course (Part 1 of 2)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Reactor Concepts Course (Part 2 of 2)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Training Center: Digital Instrumentation and Control 

MIT OpenCourseWare: Applied Nuclear Physics (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams)

MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to Ionizing Radiation (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams)

MIT OpenCourseWare: Nuclear Reactor Safety (Selected video lectures, lecture notes, assignments, exams)

MIT OpenCourseWare: Neutron Science and Reactor Physics (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams)

MIT OpenCourseWare: Engineering of Nuclear Systems (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams)

MIT OpenCourseWare: Fusion and Plasma Physics (Selected lecture notes) - Seminar

MIT OpenCourseWare: Engineering of Nuclear Reactors (Selected assignments and exams) - Graduate course

MIT OpenCourseWare: Structural Mechanics in Nuclear Power Technology (Selected assignments and exams) - Graduate course

MIT OpenCourseWare: Principles of Radiation Interactions (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams) - Graduate course

MIT OpenCourseWare: Quantum Theory of Radiation Interactions (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams) - Graduate course

MIT OpenCourseWare: Integration of Reactor Design, Operations and Safety (Selected lecture notes, assignments, exams) - Graduate course

Academic Earth: Nuclear Physics Fundamentals and Application

The following are question banks/practice tests for the Generic Fundamentals Examination administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for individuals applying for a reactor operator license.

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Pressurized Water Reactor Components Topics

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Pressurized Water Reactor Theory Topics

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Pressurized Water Reactor Thermodynamics Topics

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Boiling Water Reactor Components Topics

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Boiling Water Reactor Theory Topics

Generic Fundamentals Examination: Boiling Water Reactor Thermodynamics Topics

Past Versions of the Generic Fundamentals Examination

[nuclearvault]

Just wanted to share this again in case anyone is curious!

[nuclearvault]

Hi I'm a junior in high school and I want to go into nuclear engineering. I was wondering what classes I should take for the next two years and what college courses I should sign up for. Thanks!

Math and science classes! Algebra, physics, calculus, statistics, biology, chemistry, that sort of thing. Take them seriously.

In college you will have a structured degree program specifically for nuclear engineering. Initial courses vary but generally include, again, things like calculus, linear equations, physics, chemistry, etc. Once you complete those you will generally move on to the degree-specific courses like reactor physics, neutron science, nuclear instrumentation, health physics, etc.

On another hand, many people view joining the Navy as a fast-ish track to becoming a reactor operator, if that’s what you’re shooting for. Most ROs and senior ROs I know have come straight out of the Navy, so that’s an alternative to look into if you feel like it. High school is obviously still very important to get through though! Good luck!

[nuclearvault]

Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory (1951-1952) 

Originally $49.50, the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory (created by A.C. Gilbert Company), even today, is the most elaborate atomic energy educational set ever produced but given its high price for the time and the set’s sophistication, Gilbert ceased production in 1952. Today the set is valued by collectors and is so rare that a complete set can sell for more than 100 times the original price.

The set included:

Geiger counter

Electroscope

Spinthariscope

Wilson cloud chamber

Four uranium-bearing ore samples

Alpha particles (Pb-210, Po-210)

Beta particles (Ru-106)

Gamma rays (possibly Zn-65)

Nuclear spheres for making a molecular model of an alpha particle

Prospecting for Uranium (a book)

Gilbert Atomic Energy Manual

Learn How Dagwood Split the Atom (a comic book)

Three C batteries

1951 Gilbert Toys catalog

A product catalog describes it as follows: "Produces awe-inspiring sights! Enables you to actually SEE the paths of electrons and alpha particles traveling at speeds of more than 10,000 miles per SECOND! Electrons racing at fantastic velocities produce delicate, intricate paths of electrical condensation--beautiful to watch. Viewing Cloud Chamber action is closest man has come to watching the Atom! Assembly kit (Chamber can be put together in a few minutes) includes Dri-Electric Power Pack, Deionizer, Compression Bulb, Glass Viewing Chamber, Tubings, Power Leads, Stand and Legs."

Alfred Carlton Gilbert later wrote that “the Atomic Energy Laboratory was the most spectacular of their new toys.” He ultimately believed the set was unsuccessful because it was for those who had some educational background rather than the younger crowd the A.C. Gilbert Company typically aimed for. Columbia University purchased five of these sets for their physics laboratory.