Fundamentals of nuclear physics for engineering students. Basic properties of the nucleus and nuclear radiations. Elementary quantum mechanical calculations of bound-state energies and barrier transmission probability. Binding energy and nuclear stability. Interactions of charged particles, neutrons, and gamma rays with matter. Radioactive decays. Energetics and general cross-section behavior in nuclear reactions.

Fundamentals of nuclear physics for engineering students. Basic properties of the nucleus and nuclear radiations. Elementary quantum mechanical calculations of bound-state energies and barrier transmission probability. Binding energy and nuclear stability. Interactions of charged particles, neutrons, and gamma rays with matter. Radioactive decays. Energetics and general cross-section behavior in nuclear reactions.

Principles and applications of electromagnetism, starting from Maxwell's equations, with emphasis on phenomena important to nuclear engineering and radiation sciences. Solution methods for electrostatic and magnetostatic fields. Charged particle motion in those fields. Particle acceleration and focussing. Collisions with charged particles and with atoms. Electromagnetic waves, wave emission by accelerated particles, Bremsstrahlung. Compton scattering. Photoionization. Elementary applications to ranging, shielding, imaging, and radiation effects.

Fundamentals of thermodynamics, chemistry, flow and transport processes as applied to energy systems. Analysis of energy conversion in thermomechanical, thermochemical, electrochemical, and photoelectric processes in existing and future power and transportation systems, with emphasis on efficiency, environmental impact and performance. Systems utilizing fossil fuels, hydrogen, nuclear and renewable resources, over a range of sizes and scales are discussed. Applications include fuel reforming, hydrogen and synthetic fuel production, fuel cells and batteries, combustion, hybrids, catalysis, supercritical and combined cycles, photovoltaics, etc. Different forms of energy storage and transmission. Optimal source utilization and fuel-life cycle analysis.

Hands-on introduction to NMR presenting background in classical theory and instrumentation. Each lecture followed by lab experiments both to demonstrate ideas presented during the lecture and to familiarize students with state-of-the-art NMR instrumentation. Experiments cover topics ranging from spin dynamics to spectroscopy, and include imaging.

Basic principles of interaction of electromagnetic radiation, thermal neutrons, and charged particles with matter. Introduces classical electrodynamics, quantum theory of radiation, time-dependent perturbation theory, transition probabilities and cross sections describing interaction of various radiations with atomic systems. Applications include theory of nuclear magnetic resonance; Rayleigh, Raman, and Compton scattering; photoelectric effect; and use of thermal neutron scattering as a tool in condensed matter research.

Basic concepts of nuclear physics with emphasis on nuclear structure and radiation interactions with matter. Elementary quantum theory; nuclear forces; shell structure of the nucleus; alpha, beta, and gamma, radioactive decays; interactions of nuclear radiations (charged particles, gammas and neutrons) with matter; nuclear reactions; fission and fusion.

Introduction to basic properties of ionizing radiations and their uses in medicine, industry, science, and environmental studies. Discusses natural and man-made radiation sources, energy deposition and dose calculations, various physical, chemical, and biological processes and effects of radiation with examples of their uses, and principles of radiation protection. Term paper and oral presentation of paper required. From the course home page: This course was originally developed by Dr. Jacquelyn Yanch. As such, significant portions of the materials presented here were derived from her work.

Basic concepts of computer modeling in science and engineering using discrete particle systems and continuum fields. Techniques and software for statistical sampling, simulation, data analysis and visualization. Use of statistical, quantum chemical, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, mesoscale and continuum methods to study fundamental physical phenomena encountered in the fields of computational physics, chemistry, mechanics, materials science, biology, and applied mathematics. Applications drawn from a range of disciplines to build a broad-based understanding of complex structures and interactions in problems where simulation is on equal-footing with theory and experiment. Term project allows development of individual interest. Student mentoring by a coordinated team of participating faculty from across the Institute.

This is the course to learn about the fourth state of matter. The plasma state dominates the visible universe, and is of increasing economic importance. Plasmas behave in lots of interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. Introduces plasma phenomena relevant to energy generation by controlled thermonuclear fusion and to astrophysics. Coulomb collisions and transport processes. Motion of charged particles in magnetic fields; plasma confinement schemes. MHD models; simple equilibrium and stability analysis. Two-fluid hydrodynamic plasma models; wave propagation in a magnetic field. Introduces kinetic theory; Vlasov plasma model; electron plasma waves and Landau damping; ion-acoustic waves; streaming instabilities. A subject description tailored to fit the background and interests of the attending students distributed shortly before and at the beginning of the subject. From the course home page: The course is intended only as a first plasma physics course, but includes critical concepts needed for a foundation for further study. A solid undergraduate background in classical physics, electromagnetic theory including Maxwell's equations, and mathematical familiarity with partial differential equations and complex analysis are prerequisites.

Introduction of engineering management. Financial principles, management of innovation, engineering project planning and control, human factors, career planning, patents and technical strategy. Case study method of instruction emphasizes participation in class discussion. Juniors, seniors, or graduate students. Engineering School-Wide Elective subject.

An examination of current economic and policy issues in the electric power industry, focusing on nuclear power and its fuel cycle. Introduces techniques for analyzing private and public policy alternatives, including discounted cash flow methods and other techniques in engineering economics. Application to specific problem areas, including nuclear waste management and weapons proliferation. Other topics include deregulation and restructuring in the electric power industry.

Discusses basic physical mechanisms of particle and radiation transport due to microscopic collisions. Simple explanation of transport coefficients (e.g., diffusivity, viscosity, heat conductivity, electrical conductivity) and various nuclear cross sections. Derivation of the microscopic kinetic equation describing transport; the Boltzmann equation. Derivation of practical engineering fluid models (e.g., classical thermodynamics, the Navier Stokes equations, the neutron transport equations) from the kinetic model. Subject material elucidates the common roots of these widely different models. Transport is among the most fundamental and widely studied phenomena in science and engineering. This subject will lay out the essential concepts and current understanding, with emphasis on the molecular view, that cut across all disciplinary boundaries. (Suitable for all students in research.) Broad perspectives of transport phenomena; From theory and models to computations and simulations; Micro/macro coupling; Current research insights

This course is intended to introduce the student to the concepts and methods of transport theory needed in neutron science applications. This course is a foundational study of the effects of multiple interactions on neutron distributions and their applications to problems across the Nuclear Engineering department. Stochastic and deterministic simulation techniques will be introduced to the students.

This course introduces fundamental properties of the neutron. It covers reactions induced by neutrons, nuclear fission, slowing down of neutrons in infinite media, diffusion theory, the few-group approximation, point kinetics, and fission-product poisoning. It emphasizes the nuclear physics bases of reactor design and its relationship to reactor engineering problems.

Introduction to reactor dynamics including subcritical multiplication, critical operation in absence of thermal feedback effects and effects of Xenon, fuel and moderator temperature, etc. Derivation of point kinetics and dynamic period equations. Techniques for reactor control including signal validation, supervisory algorithms, model-based trajectory tracking, and rule-based control. Overview of light-water reactor startup. Lectures and demonstrations with computer simulation and the use of the MIT Research Reactor.

Group design project involving integration of nuclear physics, particle transport, control, heat transfer, safety, instrumentation, materials, environmental impact, and economic optimization. Provides students with opportunity to synthesize knowledge acquired in nuclear and non-nuclear subjects and apply this knowledge to practical problems of current interest in nuclear applications design.

The purpose of this course is to discuss modern techniques of generation of x-ray photons and neutrons and then follow with selected applications of newly developed photon and neutron scattering spectroscopic techniques to investigations of properties of condensed matter which are of interest to nuclear engineers.

Description of the processes by which mass, momentum, and energy are transported in plasmas, with special reference to magnetic confinement fusion applications. The Fokker-Planck collision operator and its limiting forms, as well as collisional relaxation and equilibrium, are considered in detail. Special applications include a Lorentz gas, Brownian motion, alpha particles, and runaway electrons. The Braginskii formulation of classical collisional transport in general geometry based on the Fokker-Planck equation is presented. Neoclassical transport in tokamaks, which is sensitive to the details of the magnetic geometry, is considered in the high (Pfirsch-Schluter), low (banana) and intermediate (plateau) regimes of collisionality.