Nuclear Energy

[cbrady627]

My daughter has a project due on 01/23/09 regarding Nuclear Energy. She has to do an oral presentation to her class as well as an experiment. We have found all types of experiments for other types of energy. Does anyone have any ideas as to what she can do for an experiment for nuclear energy. She really needs to do well on this project to help with her grade. If you have any ideas please let me know. Thanks!

[tzforbes]

Conducting an experiment about nuclear energy can be a bit difficult due to expense and finding the equipment. I would suggest an experiment that demonstrates a concept such as half-life. There are several good websites listed below that may help.

This is a website run by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory which discusses the fundamentals of nuclear energy. They also have a few experiments that may be helpful (some relatively simple and then others more complex)
http://www.lbl.gov/abc/
http://www.lbl.gov/abc/marsh-nuclei/index.html
http://ie.lbl.gov/radioactivedecay/

A good jumping off point for websites devoted to nuclear energy issues
http://students.ne.anl.gov/schools/us.php
http://local.ans.org/mi/Teacher_CD/teacher_cd.htm

Hope this helps

[agm]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

Another difficulty in finding an appropriate experiment is the safety issue -- generally radioactive materials are controlled, whereas if your daughter's project was about wind energy, for example, she could safely build a small wind turbine.

One way you might be able to access a sample of radioactive material and/or a Geiger counter (device used to detect radiation) is to contact the physics department at a local university -- specifically the coordinator of undergraduate lab courses, if you can figure out who that is. A department with a name like "Environmental Health and Safety" that offers x-ray safety training courses would likely also have these materials. Your daughter could also ask her teacher if s/he has any contacts who might be able to provide (and supervise the use of) radioactive samples and/or a Geiger counter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger_counter

As for what experiments to do, two ideas to get you started:

--Measure the effectiveness of various materials at shielding one or more types of radiation (could compare to materials used in nuclear power plants and waste storage containers).

http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/S1510.pdf

--Measure the amount of background radiation in various locations and near various objects (and perhaps compare to levels reported near nuclear waste sites, recommended by safety organizations, experienced by workers in nuclear power plants, etc).

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/cons ... fiesta.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite#Natural_Radiation
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-home ... ion-460708
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/garden/24granite.html

Some miscellaneous ideas/info: http://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedi ... ation.html

Good luck,
Amanda

[barretttomlinson]

Hi,

One more idea for a great nuclear energy demonstration/experiment: Build a Wilson Cloud Chamber to show tracks of nuclear particles:

http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/de ... 7d3050.htm

http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~adf4/cloud.html

http://bizarrelabs.com/cloud.htm


Here is a you tube demo of one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuzWNOUq ... re=related

If you can get the conditions just right this is a really memorable demonstration. I still have very vivid memories of seeing my first one at a science fair when I was about 12-13. I was entranced!

It is particularly interesting if you can place a small piece of mildly radioactive material in the chamber. An added interest experiment is to bring a strong magnet close to the chamber - the tracks curve if the particles are charged.

Good luck!

Barrett Tomlinson

[cbrady627]

Thank you for all the help! I will check out all of these websites and see what we can find. The cloud chamber looks like a good idea. Do you think it will be safe to do the experiment in class? Also, any idea where I could gather reseach as to how the Cloud Chamber produces Nuclear Energy? Thanks!

[barretttomlinson]

Hi,

A Wilson Cloud Chamber does not produce nuclear energy, it just detects the particles produced by nuclear events (like radioactive atoms disintegrating).

Yes it should be safe for a classroom demonstration - it is completely harmless to look at as long as you do not touch it. The major hazard is that it requires dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) which is very cold. That can freeze fingers on prolonged contact. Dry ice can be safely handled using kitchen oven mits.

In addition to the links cited in the first post, you can use any search engine to find more info on Wilson Cloud Chambers. You might find this site helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_chamber

Good luck on the project!

Barrett Tomlinson