Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering Handbook: A Complete Guide to Atomic Structure, Radioactivity, and Reactor Physics for Students and Engineers

The energy that binds a nucleus together is roughly a million times larger, particle for particle, than the energy that binds atoms into a molecule. Every distinctive feature of the nuclear field follows from that one comparison: the extraordinary energy density of its fuel, the penetrating radiation that accompanies its processes, and the shielding and safety analysis that both demand.
Knowing that fact is one thing. Being able to calculate with it is another. Many readers meet this subject as two disconnected halves — a physics course that stops at the edge of application, and an engineering course that hands down results without showing where they came from. The gap shows the first time a real question is asked. How much energy does a single gram of fuel release? How thick must a concrete wall be to bring a radiation field within a dose limit? What happens to the neutron population when a control rod is withdrawn a few centimeters? Each requires a derivation you trust and data you can trace.
This handbook was written to close that gap. Assuming only introductory university physics and calculus, it develops the physics of the nucleus from first principles and carries every important result through to a quantity an engineer can compute, measure, and act upon. Worked examples are carried to a number with units tracked at every step, and every chapter closes with practice problems and an answer key.
By working through this handbook, you will be able to:
• Compute atom number densities, reaction rates, and energy releases from first principles
• Predict which nuclides are stable and why, using binding energy, the mass formula, and shell structure
• Solve decay and buildup problems, including series decay, equilibrium, branching, and dating
• Describe how charged particles, photons, and neutrons deposit energy in matter, then size a shield or interpret a detector
• Assemble the neutron life cycle into a multiplication factor and evaluate criticality, reactivity, critical size, and control rod worth
• Apply diffusion and slowing-down theory to flux and power distributions, and use point kinetics to predict how power responds to a reactivity change
• Carry fission heat from the fuel centerline to the coolant, evaluate thermal margins, and account for decay heat after shutdown
Coverage across fifteen cumulative chapters:
Atomic and nuclear structure and binding energy; nuclear models, stability, and the shell picture; radioactivity and every major decay mode; nuclear reactions and their energy balance; the interaction of radiation with matter; cross sections and neutron physics; fission and fusion; the chain reaction and criticality; neutron diffusion and moderation; reactor theory and kinetics; reactor systems and thermal design; radiation detection and measurement; dose, health physics, and shielding; and the nuclear fuel cycle, waste, and safety. A list of symbols, a glossary, and appendices of constants, unit conversions, nuclide properties, and key equations make it a lasting reference.
It is written for undergraduate and graduate students of nuclear, mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering and of physics; for practicing engineers and technical staff moving into nuclear work; for radiation protection and health physics professionals who want the underlying physics rather than a procedure; and for disciplined self-study readers.
Begin with the structure of the atom and finish able to set up the core calculations of the discipline. Add this handbook to your shelf and start reasoning quantitatively about nuclei, radiation, and reactors.