Robert E. Masterson (1950-2020) held MS and PhD degrees in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he worked for Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Systems. He was an Affiliate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Dr. Masterson published extensively in the journals of the ANS and had over 20 years of experience in the field of nuclear science and engineering. He had an extensive background in the fields of reactor safety, reactor design and analysis, reactor thermal hydraulics, numerical analysis, reactor physics, reactor dynamics, nuclear medicine, and nuclear particle transport. He was a member of the American Nuclear Society. His first textbook with CRC Press, Nuclear Engineering Fundamentals: A Practical Perspective, was published in 2017.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Author

Chapter 1 Understanding the Atom and the Nucleus

Chapter 2 Neutrons and Other Important Nuclear Particles

Chapter 3 Fundamental Nuclear Processes: Scattering, Fission, and Absorption

Chapter 4 Nuclear Cross Sections and Reaction Probabilities

Chapter 5 Cross Section Libraries and Sources of Nuclear Data

Chapter 6 Radioactive Materials and Radioactive Decay

Chapter 7 Nuclear Fission and the Nuclear Chain Reaction

Chapter 8 Neutron Moderators and Reactor Coolants

Chapter 9 Elements, Isotopes, and Their Properties

Chapter 10 Uranium Enrichment, Nuclear Fuels, and Fuel Cycles

Chapter 11 Fuel Pins, Fuel Rods, Fuel Assemblies, and Reactor Cores

Chapter 12 Types of Reactors and Their Design Parameters

Chapter 13 Pressurized Water Reactors

Chapter 14 Boiling Water Reactors

Chapter 15 Fast Reactors, Gas Reactors, and Military Reactors

Chapter 16 Containment Buildings and the Nuclear Steam Supply System

Chapter 17 The Interaction of Radiation with Matter

Chapter 18 Shielding Systems and Radiation Shields

Chapter 19 Protecting Humans from the Harmful Effects of Radiation

Appendix A: Important Nuclear and Physical Constants

Appendix B: Unit Systems and Conversion Factors

Appendix C: Nuclear Cross Sections and Reaction Rates

Appendix D: Physical Properties of Important Nuclear Materials

Appendix E: Atomic Mass Tables, Half-Lives, and Natural Abundances

Appendix F: Delayed Neutron Emitters and Their Nuclear Properties

Appendix G: Attenuation Coefficients for Radiation Shields

Index