Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Pathway · p-66fb872c9a · candidate

Nuclear binding-energy difference → Mechanical work

Nuclear binding-energy differenceNuclear fissionHot gasGas-dynamic expansionBulk fluid flowOcean wave motionMechanical motionMechanical work

Epistemic state of the route

known constituent relations
6 / 7 established or replicated · weakest constituent demonstrated
constituent maturity floor
K4 · experimentally observed
search for this exact route
Not assessed — complete composition not searched.
recorded-pathway overlap
shares relations, in order, with Wave energy converter · 2/7 relations shared
route-level evidence
0 sources for the complete composition · 8 cited by the constituent steps
boundaries and interfaces
BOUNDARY compatible · no region transition

Explorematrix context · physics checks · steps · route evidence · constituent evidence · cite

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.20 × C.27 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Nuclear heatfamily: Nuclear heatD.20 × C.08 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Heat engine (thermomechanical)family: Heat engine (thermomechanical)D.20 × C.24 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Turbomachineryfamily: Turbomachinery

Steps

  1. 01
    nuclear → kinetic · loss to radiative
    • for neutron-induced fission: a fissionable nuclide and an incident neutron in an energy range with non-zero fission cross-section
    • critical geometry is required only for a self-sustaining chain reaction; a moderator is reactor-design dependent
    About 200 MeV per event, almost all as fragment kinetic energy (Frisch 1939); thermalisation is a separate step.
    refs [1] [2]
  2. 02
    Nuclear fission —produces→ Hot gasestablishedclaim record
    kinetic → thermal · loss to radiative
    • fission heating produces a vapour or gas working fluid in a DIRECTLY heated, same-circuit configuration: the reactor coolant itself boils in the vessel and its steam goes to the turbine (a boiling-water reactor), or the fissioning or fission-heated gas is the working medium (a gas-core or fissioning-plasma reactor)
    • not a pressurised-water reactor: there fission heats a pressurised liquid whose heat crosses a steam generator into a separate secondary circuit — the heat exchanger, not the core, makes the turbine's steam, and that topology belongs to the system layer, never hidden inside this claim (pass 38)
    refs [3] [4]
  3. 03
    thermal → kinetic · loss to thermal
    • the gas has an upstream pressure state above the downstream nozzle or duct pressure
    gas
    refs [5] [6]
  4. 04
    kinetic → kinetic
    • a directed high-speed gas stream leaves the nozzle — the disequilibrium whose content is bulk fluid motion
    refs [6] [5]
  5. 05
    kinetic → mechanical · loss to thermal
    • wind fetch over open water
    liquid
    refs [7] [8]
  6. 06
    mechanical → mechanical
    • a buoy, flap or water column following the wave
    refs [7]
  7. 07
    Mechanical motion —converts into→ Mechanical workestablishedclaim record
    mechanical → mechanical · loss to thermal
    refs [3]

Evidence for the complete composition · 0

No source on record for this exact composition. The sources below support the individual steps, not the route as a whole.

Evidence for the constituent relations · 8

  1. [1]
    O. Hahn, F. Strassmann. Über den Nachweis und das Verhalten der bei der Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen entstehenden Erdalkalimetalle (1939)
    Naturwissenschaften 27, 11–15 · doi:10.1007/BF01488241 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  2. [2]
    O. R. Frisch. Physical evidence for the division of heavy nuclei under neutron bombardment (1939)
    Nature 143, 276 · doi:10.1038/143276a0 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  3. [3]
    A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)
    Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  4. [4]
    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Boiling Water Reactors — how a typical commercial BWR works (2025)
  5. [5]
    NASA Glenn Research Center. Nozzle Design (Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics) (2024)
    NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics; page dated 2021-08-06, modified 2024-09-12 · www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/nozzle-design/ · record
  6. [6]
    J. Marlin Smith. Preliminary results in the NASA Lewis H2-O2 combustion MHD experiment (1979)
    NASA Technical Memorandum 79135 (E-9983); prepared for the 18th Symposium on the Engineering Aspects of Magnetohydrodynamics, Butte, Montana, June 18–20, 1979 · ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19790014726 · record
  7. [7]
    S. H. Salter. Wave power (1974)
    Nature 249, 720–724 · doi:10.1038/249720a0 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  8. [8]
    J. Falnes. Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems: Linear Interactions Including Wave-Energy Extraction (2002)
    Cambridge University Press · doi:10.1017/CBO9780511754630 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record

Cite this route

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-66fb872c9a: Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Hot gas → Gas-dynamic expansion → Bulk fluid flow → Ocean wave motion → Mechanical motion → Mechanical work. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/66fb872c9a

Ids and matrix addresses are stable across revisions; the revision hash identifies the exact canonical files the record was compiled from and is meta.data_hash in every /api export. Reuse terms: see the license field in any export.