Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Pathway · p-99f7e0235f · candidate

Nuclear binding-energy difference → Electrical work

Nuclear binding-energy differenceNuclear fissionTemperature gradientMarangoni effectFluid flowStreaming potentialIonic currentElectrical work

Epistemic state of the route

known constituent relations
7 / 7 established or replicated · weakest constituent replicated
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 Nuclear fission steam plant · 2/7 relations shared
route-level evidence
0 sources for the complete composition · 9 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.34 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Marangonifamily: MarangoniD.20 × C.23 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Electrokineticfamily: Electrokinetic

Typed bounds on this route

Every limit the atlas holds for this route, as constraint records: reached through bounded_by claims on the route's own entities. Hard bounds (an upper bound or a formula) decide the thermodynamic-bound check above; benchmarks, constitutive relations and resource limits are listed and never decisive. No prose limit exists anywhere (pass 42).

  • Carnot limit · formula-bound · hard, applies to this route
    η ≤ 1 − T_c/T_h for any heat engine between reservoirs at T_h and T_c
  • Onsager–Casimir reciprocity · constitutive-relation · listed, never decisive
    L_ij(B) = ε_i ε_j L_ji(−B): the cross-coefficients of coupled linear transport are equal up to the time-reversal parities ε of the variables and reversal of the magnetic field; L_ij = L_ji is the zero-field, even-parity case

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
    kinetic → thermal · loss to radiative
    • fragment and neutron kinetic energy thermalised in the fuel; the fuel runs hotter than the coolant
    refs [2] [3]
  3. 03
    thermal → kinetic · loss to thermal
    • thermocapillary case: surface tension falls with temperature, so a temperature gradient along the interface drives flow toward the cold side
    liquid · temperature gradient required
    refs [4] [5]
  4. 04
    Marangoni effect —produces→ Fluid flowestablishedclaim record
    kinetic → kinetic
    refs [4] [5]
  5. 05
    kinetic → electrical · loss to thermal
    • the produced liquid flow passes a charged surface or through a charged channel; the charged boundary is a condition of the step
    • not something the upstream flow provides
    aqueous medium required · bulk flow required · charged surface required
    refs [6] [7]
  6. 06
    electrical → electrical
    refs [7] [8]
  7. 07
    Ionic current —converts into→ Electrical workestablishedclaim record
    electrical → electrical · loss to thermal
    • electrodes exchange the ionic current for an electronic current through the external load
    refs [9]

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 · 9

  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]
    L. E. Scriven, C. V. Sternling. The Marangoni Effects (1960)
    Nature 187, 186-188 · doi:10.1038/187186a0 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-20 · record
  5. [5]
    Q. Dai et al.. Directional interfacial motion of liquids: Fundamentals, evaluations, and manipulation strategies (2021)
    Tribology International 154, 106749 · doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2020.106749 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-20 · record
  6. [6]
    J. Yin, et al.. Generating electricity by moving a droplet of ionic liquid along graphene (2014)
    Nature Nanotechnology 9, 378–383 · doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.56 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  7. [7]
    J. Yang et al.. Electrokinetic microchannel battery by means of electrokinetic and microfluidic phenomena (2003)
    Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 13, 963 · doi:10.1088/0960-1317/13/6/320 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  8. [8]
    R. J. Hunter. Zeta Potential in Colloid Science: Principles and Applications (1981)
    Academic Press · doi:10.1016/C2013-0-07389-6 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  9. [9]
    A. J. Bard, L. R. Faulkner. Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals and Applications (2nd ed.) (2001)
    Wiley · book, no DOI · record

Cite this route

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-99f7e0235f: Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Temperature gradient → Marangoni effect → Fluid flow → Streaming potential → Ionic current → Electrical work. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/99f7e0235f

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.