Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
Rep Prog Phys. 2017 Feb;80(2):026301. doi: 10.1088/1361-6633/80/2/026301. Epub 2017 Jan 10.
Today the applications of nuclear physics span a very broad range of topics and fields. This review discusses a number of aspects of these applications, including selected topics and concepts in nuclear reactor physics, nuclear fusion, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear-geophysics, and nuclear medicine. The review begins with a historic summary of the early years in applied nuclear physics, with an emphasis on the huge developments that took place around the time of World War II, and that underlie the physics involved in designs of nuclear explosions, controlled nuclear energy, and nuclear fusion. The review then moves to focus on modern applications of these concepts, including the basic concepts and diagnostics developed for the forensics of nuclear explosions, the nuclear diagnostics at the National Ignition Facility, nuclear reactor safeguards, and the detection of nuclear material production and trafficking. The review also summarizes recent developments in nuclear geophysics and nuclear medicine. The nuclear geophysics areas discussed include geo-chronology, nuclear logging for industry, the Oklo reactor, and geo-neutrinos. The section on nuclear medicine summarizes the critical advances in nuclear imaging, including PET and SPECT imaging, targeted radionuclide therapy, and the nuclear physics of medical isotope production. Each subfield discussed requires a review article unto itself, which is not the intention of the current review; rather, the current review is intended for readers who wish to get a broad understanding of applied nuclear physics.
如今，核物理学的应用涵盖了非常广泛的主题和领域。本文讨论了这些应用的多个方面，包括核反应堆物理学、核聚变、核不扩散、核地球物理学和核医学等领域的一些主题和概念。
本文首先对应用核物理学的早期历史进行了历史性总结，重点介绍了第二次世界大战前后发生的巨大发展，这些发展是核爆炸、受控核能和核聚变设计中所涉及物理的基础。然后，本文将重点转移到这些概念的现代应用上，包括核爆炸取证的基本概念和诊断技术、国家点火设施的核诊断、核反应堆的安全保障以及核材料生产和走私的检测。本文还总结了核地球物理学和核医学的最新发展。本文讨论的核地球物理学领域包括地质年代学、工业核测井、奥克洛反应堆和地球中微子。核医学部分总结了核成像的重大进展，包括正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和单光子发射计算机断层扫描（SPECT）成像、靶向放射性核素治疗以及医用同位素生产的核物理。每个讨论的子领域都需要一篇单独的综述文章，这不是本文的意图；相反，本文旨在为希望广泛了解应用核物理学的读者提供帮助。
