Nuclear binding-energy difference → Electrical work
Nuclear binding-energy differenceNuclear fissionTemperature gradientWorking-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle)Mechanical motionElectromagnetic inductionCharge carriersElectrical work
Epistemic state of the route
- known constituent relations
- 7 / 7 established or replicated · weakest constituent established
- 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 · 4/7 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.14 · Nuclear binding-energy difference × Electromagnetic inductionfamily: Electromagnetic induction
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 routeη ≤ 1 − T_c/T_h for any heat engine between reservoirs at T_h and T_c
- Curzon–Ahlborn efficiency at maximum power · benchmark · listed, never decisiveη_CA = 1 − √(T_c/T_h)
Steps
- 01nuclear → 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] - 02kinetic → thermal · loss to radiative
- fragment and neutron kinetic energy thermalised in the fuel; the fuel runs hotter than the coolant
refs [2] [3] - 03thermal → mechanical · loss to thermal
- a hot reservoir to heat the working fluid and a cold reservoir to condense or cool it
temperature gradient requiredrefs [3] [4] - 04mechanical → mechanical · loss to thermalrefs [3]
- 05mechanical → electrical · loss to thermal
- a magnet moving relative to a coil
conductor required · magnetic field requiredrefs [5] [6] - 06electrical → electrical · loss to thermalrefs [5] [7]
- 07electrical → electrical · loss to thermal
- carriers driven through an external load at the potential difference the source maintains
refs [8]
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]O. Hahn, F. Strassmann. Über den Nachweis und das Verhalten der bei der Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen entstehenden Erdalkalimetalle (1939)
- [2]O. R. Frisch. Physical evidence for the division of heavy nuclei under neutron bombardment (1939)
- [3]A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)
- [4]G. Walker. Stirling Engines (1980)
- [5]M. Faraday. Experimental researches in electricity (1832)
- [6]S. P. Beeby, et al.. A micro electromagnetic generator for vibration energy harvesting (2007)
- [7]L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii. Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (Course of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 8, 2nd ed.) (1984)
- [8]N. W. Ashcroft, N. D. Mermin. Solid State Physics (1976)
Cite this route
Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-bdd7d92a59: Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Temperature gradient → Working-fluid expansion (heat-engine cycle) → Mechanical motion → Electromagnetic induction → Charge carriers → Electrical work. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/bdd7d92a59
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.