Students are expected to be familiar with theoretical models of reactor behavior from NE 405. This knowledge permits the student to compare the theoretical behavior to the actual, experimental performance of the UW's TRIGA reactor. Topics of particular relevance from NE 405 include: chain reactions; one-speed diffusion theory; neutron slowing down and thermal neutrons; bare, multi-region and heterogeneous reactors; reactor kinetics; temperature effects on reactivity; fission product poisoning and control materials.

Basic laboratory skills acquired from NE 427 (Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory) are needed to interpret and write-up reactor lab experiments. Knowledge of health physics instruments and the abilities to conduct radiation surveys and activation analysis are considered particularly important.

The text for the course is a series of experiment procedures which may be purchased from Bob's Copy Shop on the corner of Randall and Campus Drive.

One three-hour lab per week. Significant out-of-class time required for laboratory write-ups.

The following statement indicates which of the following considerations are included in this course: economic, environmental, ethical, political, societal, health and safety, manufacturability, sustainability.

This course is particularly valuable for those students who are planning to make a career in the nuclear power industry. The course permits students to compare and contrast the theoretical models of reactor behavior with the actual behavior of a real reactor. Senior utility officers have noted that this kind of training is invaluable for their operators (as opposed to exclusive reliance on simulator training) because it provides lessons in the behavior of a real reactor that can not be captured with analytical or computer models. As such, it has an indirect bearing on "health and safety."

NE 428 supports the NE program's objectives in that it provides students with the opportunity to use instruments in the reactor lab to measure a variety of radiation levels, as well as perform the data acqusition and interpretation associated with those analyses. This includes neutron fluxes (indirect measure of reactor power) and photon fluxes (following neutron activation analyses). There is also an opportunity to measure diffusion theory parameters and neutron cross-sections.